The Doom Spending Dilemma: How Millennials & Gen Z Cope with Financial Anxiety

By Amanda LaMela and Dani Saliani

"Doom spending" is a term gaining more media traction attributed to millennials and Gen Z, though it’s not an entirely new phenomenon. Unlike occasional retail therapy, which can provide brief, controlled bursts of positive reinforcement without long-term financial or emotional damage, doom spending typically involves fear-driven buying decisions made impulsively and repeatedly to manage distress. It represents an attempt at emotional self-regulation gone awry, providing short-lived relief but ultimately reinforcing feelings of anxiety, guilt, and loss of control. While it is harmful in the long term as a coping mechanism, it’s also understandable given the context of the behavior and offers an opportunity for more conversation about our needs on both an individual and collective level.

Why Do We Do It?

Doom spending often emerges from existential anxiety, a perceived lack of control, and a desperate attempt to regain agency. Feelings of powerlessness and uncertainty are magnified by the relentless exposure to negative news. These uncomfortable emotional states trigger us to seek relief, often through behaviors that stimulate the brain's reward pathways. People may seek immediate comfort through purchasing, mimicking behaviors seen in addiction and compulsive disorders. In other words, doom-spending is “addictive consumption” with a fear-based marketing team. 

In 2025, “doom spending” feeds off of an unease that is chronic, constant, and collective. The current political climate is marked by persistent division, economic anxiety, and uncertainty. As a result, it is challenging to trace the root of these maladaptive spending behaviors to a singular crisis or concern. Collective fear is amplified by our digital connectedness, which makes stress and coping mechanisms more public, performative, and contagious. In this context, the doom spender is essentially saying “the world is on fire, what am I saving my money for?” Adults under 40 are typically unable to afford a home of their own. Knowing this and combining it with a sense of cynical resignation can lead one to make impactful financial decisions that only consider the short term and then they pay for it in the long term.

History of Doom Spending

Historically, during economic downturns or crises, individuals have engaged in increased spending as a coping mechanism. For instance, during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, faced with uncertainties and lockdowns, many consumers began spending exorbitantly on items that brought them comfort (think toilet paper thrones and fancy electronics). Similarly, in the early 2000s, following the 9/11 attacks, there was a notable surge in consumer spending, as people sought comfort in material possessions amid national distress.

The contagious nature of addictive consumption is not a novel concept. The idea that unhealthy spending habits can spread through social networks, much like an infectious disease, offers a compelling explanation for the impulsive financial behaviors that seem to impact entire generations. In a 2006 study, researchers Alamar and Glantz proposed modeling addictive consumption as a social contagion that passes between individuals through social connections. Under this framework, your likelihood of developing problematic spending patterns is heavily influenced by the spending habits you observe in family, friends, and your broader social environment. 

Consider the transformation of social interaction since 2006, particularly the evolution of social media from blurry, individually-uploaded Facebook photos to today's hyper-focused TikTok FYP. The contemporary concept of 'going viral' captures precisely how quickly and widely these spending habits can spread online, emphasizing that compulsive or impulsive spending is not merely an individual struggle but a collective phenomenon deeply rooted in social interactions and digital culture. If we examine doom spending and addictive consumption through this contagion framework, healing one’s own unhealthy spending habits could be seen as a form of social responsibility.

How to Support Yourself

While doom spending can provide a temporary dopamine boost, the relief is fleeting. Maladaptive spending behaviors intensify anxiety, regret, shame, and increased stress from accumulated debt. Long-term, this cycle reinforces depressive and anxious tendencies, as the shame can build to more symptomatic degrees, especially when gone unchecked in a place like therapy. Debt particularly carries psychological impacts such as chronic stress, hopelessness, and feelings of entrapment.

Engaging in activities that foster a sense of control, connection, and meaning (rather than consumption) can significantly improve emotional resilience and sense of purpose.

Volunteering or participating in local community groups can help combat feelings of helplessness by providing tangible, meaningful ways to contribute positively.

Creative activities like journaling, art, or music offer outlets for emotional processing and self-expression, reducing the impulse to self-soothe through spending.

Additionally, regularly scheduled digital detoxes are highly effective. It can feel scary, but setting intentional limits on your news and social media consumption can interrupt cycles of anxiety and overstimulation. When we allow ourselves the space to recalibrate emotionally and cognitively, we reduce the likelihood of impulsive doom spending.

Budgeting mindfully involves grounding financial decisions in personal values and long-term well-being, rather than acting on impulse or fear. Techniques such as value-aligned spending, deliberate purchase pauses (waiting 24-48 hours before making a purchase), and regular financial reflections can transform budgeting from a restriction into an empowering practice of self-awareness and intentional living. It may feel overwhelming at first, and you might not know where to start. You can begin to identify, understand, and reframe compulsive spending habits by asking yourself the following questions:

· What emotional need am I trying to satisfy with this purchase?
· If no one else ever saw this, would I still want it?
· Does buying this move me closer to or further from the future I envision?
· How will I feel about this purchase in a week? A month? A year?

If you’d like to meet with any of the therapists at our practice to discuss how your financial habits are impacting your life, you can check out our bios here, contact us or make an appointment below. We look forward to working with you!

References

Alamar, B., and Stanton A. Glantz. "Modeling Addictive Consumption as an Infectious Disease." The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, vol. 5, no. 1, 2006, https://doi.org/10.1515/1538-0645.1482.

Capuzzi, Dave, and Mark D. Stauffer. Foundations of Addictions Counseling. Pearson, 2025.

“Doom Spending Your Finances.” Alliance Asset Management, https://allianceam.com/expenses/doom-spending-your-finances.

Nova, Annie. “Young People Are Doom Spending. Here’s What It Is—and How to Stop It.” CNBC, 23 Sept. 2024, https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/23/young-people-are-doom-spending-heres-what-it-is-and-how-to-stop-it.html.

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