6 Tips for Mindful Consumption (Without Doom Spending)

As of May 2025, the consumer prices were 23.7% higher than what they were in February 2020. This rise in expenses has triggered a natural response of restricted spending or shopping for only essential items. Americans are turning to low-buy or no-buy lifestyles.

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But it has also triggered feelings of anxiety and hopelessness, especially among some Gen Z and Millennials, and it’s driving them to spend more on doomspending through impulse purchases.

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What is Doom Spending?

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People doom spend to deal with stress from macro situations like high inflation, tariffs and rising interest rates, which are out of an individual’s control. They worry that they won’t have enough money to pay bills or won’t be able to save enough for retirement. This stress drives them to spend more.

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About a quarter (27%) of Americans doom spend to cope with stress, including 35% of Gen Zs and 43% of Millennials.

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Any of us can fall into the doom spending trap, especially at a time when the world feels unpredictable. If you are sustainability-minded, doom spending creates a painful double bind: the urge to buy for comfort clashes directly with values around waste and conscious consumption.

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Tips to Avoid Doom Spending

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If you've been tempted to doom spend, here are a few things to try:

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Understand Your Relationship with Money

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Money habits often begin in childhood; the early lessons you were taught (or observed) can become the default settings for your financial life. So before building small, consistent habits around tracking and saving, spend some time understanding your relationship with money. Our guide on How to Really Understand Your Relationship With Money should help you get started.

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Unplug to Curb Consumption

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If the endless supply of bad news and terrifying developments in the world makes your anxiety worse, it’s worth staying away from social media feeds, at least for a while, until you can break the cycle. In the meantime, explore free outdoor activities like going for a walk, wandering through a local market, hosting a game night, or volunteering somewhere. Here are some more free plans to choose from.

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Repair, Borrow, or Swap

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Instead of buying new stuff, repairing what you already own, or borrowing or swapping with friends, family, and neighbors can give you a sense of control when everything else feels uncertain. Take stock of what you already have, fix what you can (even small repairs like sewing a button or replacing a zipper), and if you truly need something, try borrowing first from your community or local Buy Nothing groups or swap stuff with your friends and family. This helps build a pause between impulse and purchase.

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Use the One-in, One-out Rule

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When you find yourself adding something new to your cart, try the one-in, one-out rule: only buy something new if you’re ready to sell or donate something you already own. Add the item to your “Things to Buy” list and only purchase it after you’ve sold or donated the old one. This increases the odds that you’ll donate or sell something and skip the new purchase altogether. Before you buy, also check your storage space. Think about where the item will go and how you’ll store it once it arrives.

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Make It Difficult to Shop Online

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If you have your card or other payment details saved, it’s easy to buy something in a few clicks. Add resistance by removing your saved payment details. That way, every time you have the urge to shop, you’ll have to find your bag or wallet, pull out your card, and manually enter the details. This delay can give you a few extra seconds to reconsider your purchase. Also, set up mobile banking notifications so the constant alerts each time you buy something make it harder to mindlessly ignore your spending.

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Keep Tabs on Your Doomspending

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When you can put a number on your doomspending, it can be a stronger motivation to curb it. Commons Watchlists let you track your purchases at the merchants where you tend to impulse-buy and get updates and alerts along the way to keep your spending in check.

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