Doom Spending: Why Gen Z and Millennials Are Spending Like There's No Tomorrow

What Is Doom Spending?

Doom spending is a term that exploded on social media in late 2024 and hasn't slowed down since. It describes the pattern of spending money recklessly because you feel like the future is too uncertain or bleak to bother saving for.

"I'll never afford a house anyway, so why not buy the €200 jacket?" "The economy is going to crash, so I might as well enjoy my money now." "Climate change / AI / [insert existential crisis] means saving is pointless."

A 2025 Intuit survey found that 43% of Gen Z and 35% of millennials admitted to doom spending as a coping mechanism. This isn't frivolous shopping — it's nihilistic consumption, rooted in genuine anxiety about the future.

Why It's Happening Now

The housing affordability crisis

In most major cities, the average house price is 8-12x the average annual salary — up from 3-4x a generation ago. When the most visible financial milestone (homeownership) feels permanently out of reach, the motivation to save collapses.

"If I can't save for a deposit anyway, why deny myself small pleasures?"

Information overload of bad news

24/7 news cycles, doomscrolling, and algorithm-driven content push anxiety-inducing stories about economic collapse, job displacement by AI, climate catastrophe, and political instability. The constant drumbeat of "things are getting worse" erodes long-term thinking.

Social media lifestyle comparison

Instagram and TikTok create the illusion that everyone else is living lavishly. When your peers appear to be spending freely, the social pressure to keep up overrides the logic of saving. What's invisible: those same people might be in debt, getting parental support, or faking it.

Post-pandemic YOLO mentality

COVID taught an entire generation that life can be upended overnight. The response for many was "life is short — spend while you can." That impulse, once reasonable during lockdowns, has calcified into a permanent spending pattern.

Real wage stagnation

When your paycheck buys less each year due to inflation, the gap between "what I can afford to enjoy now" and "what I need to save for the future" widens. Saving €200/month toward a €40,000 goal feels Sisyphean when that €200 is also being eroded by shrinkflation.

The Problem With Doom Spending

The feelings driving doom spending are valid. The response is counterproductive. Here's why:

It makes the doom real

Spending everything because "the future is uncertain" guarantees a worse future. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. The person who saves nothing because "nothing matters" will have nothing when they need it — confirming their belief that the system is broken.

It provides diminishing returns

The dopamine from a purchase lasts hours. The anxiety it was masking returns by morning. So you buy something else. The cycle accelerates, the purchases get bigger, and the temporary relief gets shorter.

Small amounts still compound

Even in a broken system, compound interest works. €150/month invested at 7% for 20 years = €78,000. That's not a house deposit in London — but it's financial freedom in many other forms: a career break, a move to a cheaper city, a cushion that lets you take risks.

Doom spending trades that optionality for a new pair of shoes.

How to Break the Cycle (Without Toxic Positivity)

This isn't a "just think positive!" pep talk. The anxiety is real. The solution is redirect the energy, not deny the feelings.

1. Separate the feeling from the action

When the doom-spending urge hits, pause and name it:

"I'm feeling anxious about [the economy / my future / AI / the news]. That feeling is making me want to buy something to feel better."

Naming the trigger breaks the automatic link between emotion and purchase. It doesn't make the anxiety go away — but it gives you a choice point.

2. Set a "doom budget"

Instead of all-or-nothing (save everything OR spend everything), create a dedicated fun-money budget. €100-200/month for guilt-free spending. On anything. No judgment.

This satisfies the emotional need to "enjoy now" while protecting the rest of your money from the spiral.

3. Doom save instead

Channel the same nihilistic energy into saving:

"Everything is falling apart, so I'd better have a financial cushion when it does."

If the world really is getting worse, having money saved is MORE important, not less. An emergency fund is literally preparing for doom — which is the opposite of helplessness.

4. Limit doomscrolling

The doom-spending cycle starts with doom-consuming. Reduce exposure to anxiety-inducing content:

• Set screen time limits on news and social media apps


• Unfollow accounts that make you feel financially hopeless


• Replace one doomscrolling session per day with something tangible (a walk, cooking, reading)

5. Find the middle path

The false binary is: "Either I save aggressively for a future that might not exist, or I spend everything because nothing matters."

The middle path: spend intentionally on things that bring real value today, while saving enough to have options tomorrow.

You don't need to save for a dream home. Save for:

• 3 months of "quit my job" money


• A trip you've always wanted


• The ability to say no to bad opportunities


• Freedom from credit card interest

These are achievable goals that improve your life now AND later.

6. Track spending to see the pattern

Most doom spenders don't realize how much they're spending until they see the monthly total. Tracking every purchase for 30 days makes the invisible visible.

Portofelo shows you exactly where your money goes — without judgment. The data often reveals that doom spending isn't even buying happiness. The €600 in impulse purchases last month? You probably can't name half of them.

The Generational Irony

Here's the uncomfortable truth: the generation that says "saving is pointless because I'll never afford a house" is spending the equivalent of a house deposit over 10 years on things they can't remember buying.

€300/month in doom spending × 12 months × 10 years = €36,000. Invested at 7%, that's €52,000.

That doesn't buy a house in every city. But it buys something equally valuable: options. The ability to relocate, retrain, start a business, take a sabbatical, leave a bad relationship, or weather a crisis without spiraling into debt.

Options are the antidote to doom. And options require money you didn't spend.

Start Small

You don't have to go from doom spending to extreme frugality overnight. That's just trading one extreme for another.

Start here:

Track your spending for one month — just observe

Set up a €50/month auto-save — barely noticeable, but starts the habit

Give yourself a guilt-free fun budget — €100-200/month, no rules

Check your savings balance once a month — watch it grow

The doom doesn't disappear. But the helplessness does. And that's the real point.