What Gen X Women Are Buying Instead of AlcoholWhat Gen X Women Are Buying Instead of Alcohol
The Now What Society
Lane Kennedy and Tamar talk about Gen X women drinking less alcohol and spending more on health, fitness, travel and nervous system care. They also discuss how GLP‑1 medications and changing priorities are reshaping everyday life and recovery choices.
32:07•29 Sept 2026
What Gen X Women Are Choosing Instead of Alcohol
Episode Overview
- Cutting alcohol frees up hundreds of pounds or dollars each month that can be redirected into health, travel and meaningful experiences.
- Gen X women are increasingly choosing fitness, running clubs and community events over nights centred on drinking.
- GLP-1 medications can significantly reduce the desire to drink, though they should be used with medical supervision to avoid emotional blunting.
- More women are investing in nervous system care and therapies like acupuncture, massage and chiropractic to feel better in their bodies.
- There is no single “right” recovery path; what matters most is keeping alcohol and drugs out of the body and finding what genuinely works.
“If you take alcohol away or if you lower alcohol, it just changes all the dynamics of all your relationships… your life just gets exponentially better.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This chat between long-time friends Lane Kennedy and Tamar (Gen X women with decades of clean and sober living behind them) looks at what happens when alcohol drops off the shopping list and what women are choosing instead.
Lane runs the numbers on a single £14 glass of wine and shows how quickly it adds up to hundreds each month, then asks, "What have you spent money on in the last year that you’d never have spent money on when you were drinking?" You’ll hear how Gen X women are redirecting cash into running clubs, quality trainers, travel, nervous system care, and a whole menu of health support – from vitamin therapy and acupuncture to massage, chiropractic care and structured lifestyle programmes.
Sparked by a New York Times piece on the decline of bourbon and its impact on places like Louisville, they shift the focus away from distillery layoffs and towards a bigger question: if millions are drinking less, where’s that money going? Tamar jokes about using up all her health benefits by April because she’s “that invested” in her body now. They also talk about GLP‑1 medications and how a large study showed many users simply lose the desire to drink.
Lane is all for these “great molecules” when used with proper medical supervision, but she’s honest about the risks of overuse, including feeling emotionally flat. Threaded through the chat is a clear message: priorities are changing. Women are less interested in hangovers and more interested in longevity, nervous system resets, and lives they actually remember.
As Lane puts it, "If you take alcohol away or if you lower alcohol, it just changes all the dynamics of all your relationships… your life just gets exponentially better." So if you’re Gen X, sober‑curious, or simply tired of pricey wine and foggy mornings, this conversation might get you thinking: what would you rather buy than booze?
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