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Entrepreneur
12 hours ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
What Is 'Doom Spending' and Which Generation Falls for It?
Consumer prices are 23.7% higher than they were in February 2020, which means Americans must spend about $1,237 to buy the same goods and services that cost $1,000 when the pandemic-induced recession hit, according to a Bankrate analysis. Some people have responded to the rise in expenses with an effort to curb their consumption. A new study from Intuit Credit Karma found that many Americans are turning to "low-buy" (44%) or "no-buy" (42%) lifestyles: restricting spending or committing to shop only for items that need to be replaced. Related: Want a Job That Pays Enough for a Comfortable Lifestyle? You'll Have the Best Shot in This U.S. City — and the Worst in 4 Others. The most common reasons for embracing a low-buy or no-buy challenge are to build savings (41%), pay down debt (37%) and cover basic necessities (30%), according to the research. Gen Z adults and millennials, in particular, find it difficult to build wealth. Despite 63% of them believing that investing in the stock market will set them up for financial success, 61% are not saving for retirement each month, a poll from CNBC and Generation Lab revealed. Intuit Credit Karma's research found that more than half of Gen Z report participating in or considering low-buy and no-buy challenges. Related: This Buzzy Retirement Strategy Is Helping Young People Escape the 9-5 Before Becoming Millionaires — Here's How to Pull It Off However, Gen Z respondents are also most likely to admit to "doom spending" (41%). Doom spending is the habit of making impulsive purchases — often items that people don't need or can't afford — to ease feelings of anxiety and hopelessness. Many Gen Z respondents (42%) report "panic buying" products out of fear of price hikes or shortages as well. Additionally, Gen Z is most susceptible to TikTok discourse: 43% say social media content related to tariffs has influenced their spending, fueling purchases on shopping apps like DHGate or from advertised wholesalers they saw in trending TikTok videos, per Intuit Credit Karma. It might be difficult to put an exact number on doom spending's financial toll, but U.S. consumers owe more than $1 trillion on their credit cards, and the average American credit card debt balance is $6,580, Motley Fool Money reported. Related: Americans in These 5 U.S. States Might Fare the Worst in Retirement. How Do Your Numbers Compare? Ashlee Piper, a former political strategist and the author of No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity, has some words of wisdom for anyone who wants to reduce doom spending with a low-buy challenge. "No matter how much time folks can try the challenge for, they're going to see benefits," Piper, who paid off $22,000 debt and saved $36,000 with her "no new things" challenge, told Entrepreneur earlier this year. "What's more, if someone has any concern or stress around trying the 'no new things challenge,' that in and of itself should be a sign that it's time to go for it."
CNET
06-05-2025
- Business
- CNET
Trying the No-Buy Challenge for 30 Days Actually Made My Life Less Boring
A spending detox shifted my whole relationship with money. Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNET I had my doubts about the no-buy challenge. I'd been seeing it all over social media, but as a personal finance editor, I wasn't sure it could teach me anything new about managing my money. Still, prices are insane and a recession is looming, so I figured it couldn't hurt to try. So, for 30 days, I bought only essentials. And I was honestly amazed by how transformative it wound up being. Sure, it saved me a chunk of change. But it also changed my relationship with my money in a way that will serve me for months -- and years -- to come. And, even more surprising, it was actually kind of fun. Read more: The Simple $1 Trick Helped Me Pay Off Debt and Retire on My Terms. Here's How It Works Spending more mindfully: My no-buy rules "No-buy" doesn't mean spending no money at all. Obviously we can't avoid paying for essentials like housing, food and utilities. But we can be more mindful about how we budget for them. We can also be more calculated about which nonessential items we prioritize each month. For my no-buy month, I followed the basic do's and don'ts of others on social media, differentiating between "necessities" and "extras." I also added a few custom spending allowances (depriving myself entirely seemed counterproductive). Things I could buy ✔️ Housing/utilities ✔️ Car and home insurance ✔️ Internet/phone ✔️ Student loan payments ✔️ Groceries and personal care items ✔️ Emergencies (like an urgent car repair) ✔️ Gas For purchases like groceries, I set an additional rule that I could only buy things I absolutely needed. Restocking pantry staples I'd run out of was fine but I had to get creative with the ingredients I already had before buying anything else. Personal allowances ✔️ Expenses related to events I'd already scheduled (e.g., hosting a dinner party for friends, a concert I had tickets for) ✔️ Streaming services (limited to one for music and one for TV/movies) ✔️ Charity For events I'd already planned, I focused on being frugal. Instead of purchasing new margarita glasses for a taco night with friends, I hit up BuyNothing to score some free ones. Instead of paying surge prices to park near the concert, I reserved a spot farther away in a discounted lot. Things I couldn't buy 𝗫 Eating out 𝗫 Entertainment 𝗫 Unnecessary/discretionary purchases (e.g., clothing, merch at the concert I had tickets for) 𝗫 Repairs I can make myself 𝗫 Services I can do myself What I learned from my month of mindful spending This no-buy challenge wasn't a get-rich-quick scheme. It actually felt transformative, helping to clarify my relationship with money and establish healthier long-term habits. Here are a few of my takeaways. Convenience is expensive Getting more deliberate with my spending made me realize I was paying a premium for simply avoiding tasks I find annoying or time-consuming. For example, while I don't enjoy grooming my dogs when their fur gets unruly, it costs almost $100 for a makeover at the doggie salon. So I dug out the pet razor I'd bought months ago and actually used it. The results wouldn't qualify my pups for a dog show but they were perfectly passable. Another example: Ordering delivery is easier than scouring my fridge for dinner ideas and making a meal at the end of a long day. But for the cost of one Grubhub order, including delivery fees and driver tip, I could make a whole week's worth of dinners by getting creative and spending some time slicing and dicing. Relying on paid entertainment kept distracting me. Turns out I had a ton of fun stuff to keep me busy. Kelly Ernst/CNET Forget the pricey restaurant outings – a potluck birthday party was way more fun (and a great excuse to try a new cupcake recipe). Kelly Ernst/CNET Relying on paid entertainment was making my life boring Limiting what I could spend on entertainment made my days more interesting by opening up my hobbies and interests. I canceled all but one streaming service, so instead of mindlessly scrolling through things to binge-watch, I finally dove into the pile of craft projects I'd been collecting for months. I did puzzles and adult coloring books. I repotted and rearranged my plant babies. I finally listened to audiobooks I'd bought months ago. I missed doing things with my hands and I was able to get outside my usual routine and challenge my mind to work in new ways. Spending is a social crutch I didn't realize how often hanging out meant forking over a decent chunk of cash. Dinner and drinks, plays, concerts -- whenever I hadn't seen a friend in a while, my first instinct was to book an activity with them. I'd forgotten about the less-pricey ways I maintained friendships as a broke girl in my 20s. It turns out board game nights and dinner parties at home are more fun than a crowded, loud restaurant. I was surprised to learn that many of my friends felt the same. Now I don't have to worry about being pressured to buy a fancy bar cocktail just to throw a social gathering. Some things have emotional value One benefit of my no-buy challenge was cutting back on things that didn't matter, which gave me more room to afford what was emotionally valuable. When my partner was invited to an out-of-town surprise party, I almost didn't join him. However, it was a chance to meet some of his friends and see his old stomping grounds so it was worth it. I'm not sure I could have fit the trip into my budget if I hadn't already shifted my spending in other categories. Bonus: I bulked up my savings Thanks to my no-buy experiment, I shaved a little more than $100 off my normal monthly spending. That money is going straight into savings to pad my emergency fund. Although I'm not officially doing the challenge anymore, my spending habits have definitely shifted. Ordering takeout, paying for movies and clicking "buy now" are no longer things I do on autopilot. My no-buy month was just the reset I needed, and it improved my life in more ways than just financially. All in all, I'd consider that a win.
