What it means
Doom spending is splurging money you probably shouldn't to soothe the dread about the economy, the climate or just the state of everything. If the future feels hopeless anyway, why not buy the nice thing now, goes the logic. It's the wallet's version of doomscrolling, a coping habit dressed up as a treat.
Usage examples
"Rent's gone up again so naturally I did some doom spending on concert tickets I can't afford."
"Doom spending is my toxic trait, bad news drops and somehow there's a parcel at my door."
"Saw one headline about layoffs and somehow ended up doom spending on trainers and a stupidly expensive candle."
"I've convinced myself the world's on fire anyway, so the weekend trip was doom spending with a cute filter on it."
Where it comes from
It popped up in English around 2023 to 2024 in personal finance and lifestyle talk online. The build is pretty transparent: doom plus spending. It riffs on doomscrolling and names that bleak little spiral where bad news hits, your brain goes sod it, and your card suddenly gets ambitious.
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