Rising Cost of Death (and How to Stop It)
Americans these days are a quivering bundle of stress. More than three-quarters of adults are concerned about the future of the country , and almost as many are concerned about the overall economy. It’s easy to see why: While the American economy is gangbusters on a macro scale, at the street level it’s a stress sandwich, with people making six figures living paycheck to paycheck and worrying about how they’ll make it.
So it’s no surprise that more and more people are seeking therapy and other mental health solutions, but we’re also finding relief in less healthy ways. Forget spending hours on your phone doomscrolling , people are now spending “doomscrolling “. In a recent study , 27% of Americans admitted to spending money as a way to cope with stress and other mental and emotional health issues. This is a very, very bad idea.
How to recognize doomed spending
So-called ” shopping therapy ” isn’t entirely new, of course: people have been shopping in response to stress for a long time. Shopping gives us a sense of control, gives us a (temporary) boost of happiness, and allows us to focus on something other than our problems for a while.
But disastrous spending is different. Retail therapy is typically used to alleviate a negative experience—a bad day at work or a sad breakup. While this may not be the healthiest way to deal with a temporary setback, it usually ends once you get over the intense pain of the moment. On the other hand, fatal expenses are caused by a constant feeling of doom . There will never be an end to this because the future is always dark and always unknown.
Signs that you’re spending money instead of just doing some temporary retail therapy include:
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Repeating cycle: This is not a one-time spending of money on an expensive item or a vacation, it is an ongoing pattern.
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YOLO’s Take: If you don’t see the value in managing your money better, you’re probably doomed to spend. Research has shown that young Americans are reluctant to set long-term goals for themselves because they have no confidence that the future will be bright, and they do not think about or plan for retirement because they are convinced that it is simply impossible . If the future seems so bleak that it is meaningless, why not spend money today on things and experiences that will bring temporary pleasure. You may not have this opportunity in a few years.
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Unknown triggers. Retail therapy is usually triggered by a specific event in your life. Death spending is driven by a more general anxiety about the future and the state of the world. If you can’t tell why you decided to spend all that money on Theme yesterday, but it made you feel better, it’s a sign that you’re trapped in a self-defeating spending cycle.
And shopping is easier than ever, with almost instant gratification . As a result, doomed spending is a likely driver of increased financial misery—nearly half of all American adults carry credit card balances (along with high interest rates) month after month, creating a doom loop. People worry about money and the future, so they commit themselves to spending, accumulating debt and thus become more worried about money and the future.
How to break the vicious cycle of spending
If you spend money to cope with all the negative things, you are actively harming your financial future. All those debts you’ve accumulated will haunt you for a long time, but that’s not the worst part. The real problem with doomed spending is that it’s ineffective. You may feel great in the moment, but then you will feel worse and the underlying problems are not resolved.
The key to ending the doomed spending cycle is realizing that it’s not really a money management problem, but an emotional and mental health problem . If you find yourself shopping more when you’re upset and adopting a YOLO attitude, spending money on things you really can’t afford because you don’t want to think about the future, there are a few key steps you can take. to get from death to hold a roller coaster:
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Address mental and emotional health issues. Think about the reasons that push you to doomed spending. If you’re worried about the future, diverting your money into savings can provide peace of mind because you’ll have the resources to deal with what might happen. If it’s the endless stream of bad news and terrifying events happening in the world, staying away from social media, at least for a while, can break the vicious cycle. And, of course, seek professional help and simply allow yourself to feel your feelings rather than ignore them.
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Put up barriers. One of the key aspects of doomed spending is instant gratification: you feel bad, click on a link, and bam, you get a hit of dopamine because you bought something. Adapting your mindset to slow shopping can provide the crucial moment to allow anxiety to subside before you throw money into that hole again. You can also set practical barriers, such as not using credit cards so you can only spend what’s in your account or prepaid card, or removing all pre-filled credit card information stored by online stores so you have to filling it out—painstakingly—every time. This delay will give you time to calm down and think about what you are doing.
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Set up notifications. Your banking apps and other financial tools allow you to notify you every time you use them. While we think of these tools as ways to protect our accounts, they can also be a way to take responsibility for our spending. If you set them up to receive a constant stream of alerts every time you buy something, you won’t be able to mindlessly ignore your spending—at least not without some effort. Being forced to keep a close eye on your spending can take away that rush of happiness that disastrous spending offers and make it less habitual.
Two things are for sure: there will always be things to worry about in this world, and eventually you will run out of money. Sooner or later you will have to give up burdensome expenses.