Doom spending is spending excessive amounts of money on luxury things or experiences, such as travel, to deal with concerns about your own finances or the general economic situation. People may feel like there's no point in saving, since they feel they won't be able to achieve their financial goals, and may as well live in the moment.
Retail therapy and consumerism in general has long been used for its instant gratification, especially when people are feeling blue. However, doom spending can take it to a whole new level, with people often going into debt or failing to have a minimum level of savings or retirement funds.
Gen Z people and millennials are more likely to doom spend, with 43% of millennials and 35% of Gen Z people admitting to it, according to a survey by Credit Karma.
Iona Bain, founder of Young(ish) Money said, as reported by Vogue: "Shopping has always been an easy, low effort way to self-soothe, and our consumer economy has long been predicated on making us believe new purchases will lift our spirits and solve our problems."
Why are more people doom spending?
Most people doom spending nowadays usually do so to compensate for not being able to afford the traditional markers of adulthood, such as an apartment or a house, possibly because of the current economic and mortgage situation.
As TikTok user Maria Melchor (@firstgenliving), as reported by The Independent said in a video: "When older people ask me how young people are affording nice things that they wouldn't even buy for themselves, I tell them it's because we can't afford anything else.
"Homeownership or starting a family is so out of reach that we're using that down payment or kid money on whatever it is we can afford that'll bring us a semblance of the kind of adulthood we were promised.
"When houses are a million dollar (€0.9 million) plus and an older couple will likely outbid us anyway, we're gonna relinquish any lingering delusions about homeownership and instead use that money to give our dogs the most enriched puppyhood they can have."
