Making Cents: What is doom spending?

THERE is a relatively new phenomenon that has gained more traction and attention in recent weeks largely because of what’s happening in the USA and the election of Donald Trump as their new 47th president. And it's known as doom spending. And doom spending is when someone decides to spend money because they are worried or anxious about a future event that may unfold.

And examples of being worried about that future event could be having a feeling that you’ll never be able to own your own property or worries about climate change or being worried about never becoming a parent or never finding a partner or worries about how a country might be run or being worried before or after the diagnosis of an illness or worrying about job security and so on. To overcome these worries some people's coping mechanism is to spend money in the short term because it gives them an instant gratification or enjoyment which takes their mind off what’s really concerning them. The areas people tend to overspend on are technology, clothes, food, and trips away and in fairness it’s a perfectly natural thing to do.

When we get stressed about something we search for a dopamine hit and some people will decide to spend money because it’s a form of therapy for them. And we can control what we buy and use and wear, but we can’t control what Donald Trump might do or how climate change will play out or how a partner will or won’t behave but we know that a new bag or a new tennis racket or a trip ab.