The planet’s on fire (literally), the economy’s a mess, politics are exhausting, and somehow your solution is… buying things on Amazon at 11 PM? Welcome to doom spending, the financial coping mechanism nobody talks about but everyone’s doing.
It’s retail therapy for the apocalypse, and it’s destroying budgets faster than you can say ‘add to cart.’
What is doom spending?
Doom spending is shopping as an emotional response to feeling helpless about the world. Climate anxiety? Buy something. Political chaos? Buy something. General existential dread? Buy something.
The logic: I can’t control the world, but I can control this purchase. The world feels terrible, so I deserve this small happiness.
The reality: You’re just adding financial stress to your existing stress, which makes everything worse.
Why doom spending feels so good (temporarily)
Shopping triggers dopamine—your brain’s reward chemical. When everything feels out of control, that purchase gives you a hit of feeling like you’ve done something.
The psychology:
- Instant gratification in an uncertain world
- Sense of control when everything else feels chaotic
- Distraction from things you can’t fix
- Social media showing everyone else seeming fine (so why shouldn’t you buy things too?)
For about 10 minutes, it works. Then the package arrives, the dopamine fades, and you’re left with stuff you didn’t need and less money to handle actual problems.
The doom spending cycle
- Something terrible happens in the world
- You feel anxious, helpless, overwhelmed
- Shopping provides temporary relief
- Package arrives, dopamine hit fades
- Financial stress increases
- More anxiety about money now
- World is still a mess, and now your bank account is too
- Repeat
Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Doom spending has skyrocketed in the last few years because, well, gestures at everything.
Common doom spending traps
The ‘treat yourself’ spiral: Everything’s terrible, so you ‘deserve’ this purchase. Then the next one. Then the next one. Suddenly you’ve ‘treated yourself’ into debt.
Micro-spending that adds up: $10 here, $15 there—each purchase feels insignificant, but you’re hemorrhaging $300/month.
Stress shopping disguised as productivity: Buying organizing supplies, planners, or self-help books feels like you’re fixing your life. You’re just accumulating more stuff.
Emotional support purchases: That expensive candle will definitely make everything better. (Spoiler: it won’t, but your credit card balance will definitely get worse.)
How to break the doom spending cycle
Acknowledge it’s happening: You can’t fix a problem you won’t name. If you’re shopping when you’re anxious about world events, that’s doom spending.
Find alternative coping mechanisms:
- Physical movement (walks, workouts—free and actually helps anxiety)
- Talking to friends
- Journaling
- Doom scrolling less (if you’re not seeing the news constantly, you’re less triggered to spend)
Add friction to purchasing: Delete shopping apps, remove saved payment info, add a 24-hour waiting period before any non-essential purchase.
Budget for emotional spending: Give yourself $30-50/month for stress purchases. At least it’s contained.
Redirect the energy: If you feel helpless, donate $10 to a cause instead of spending $50 on random stuff. You still get the ‘I did something’ feeling, but it’s productive.
The reality check
Buying things doesn’t fix the world. It doesn’t even fix your feelings about the world—it just delays them.
What actually helps:
- Building emergency savings (financial security reduces anxiety)
- Taking action on things you can control
- Disconnecting from constant news cycles
- Therapy (because coping with existential dread requires actual mental health support, not packages)
The bottom line
The world is objectively a lot right now. Feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and helpless is completely understandable. But shopping your way through the apocalypse just means you’ll be broke when the world inevitably gets weirder.
You can’t control the world, but you can control your response to it. And adding financial stress on top of everything else isn’t the move.
Next time you’re about to doom spend, ask yourself: ‘Will this actually make me feel better tomorrow, or am I just trying to feel something other than helpless right now?’
Usually, the answer is the latter. And that’s when you close the shopping app and go for a walk instead.
The world’s a mess. Your bank account doesn’t have to be.
