‘Doom spending’ is new trend taking over Gen-Zers who have lost hope of buying own home

For many of us, the chances of owning our own home lie somewhere between slim and nil.

With that in mind, enter the world of 'doom spending':

It's almost on a constant basis that young people are told that if they didn't buy so many coffees, or if they just ditched Netflix, they'd somehow be able to afford a four-bed semi in Chelsea.

The reality, however, is that it's increasingly difficult to save enough for a deposit on a house in almost any region in the country.

But while some still put away the pennies every month, hoping that one day they'll be able to afford the corner of a studio flat, others are not so optimistic.

Instead, they've come to the realisation that it's a lost cause, and have succumbed to 'doom spending'.

But what is it, I hear you ask? Well, let's hear from Maria Melchor, who explained the term in a post to her TikTok account.

TikTok/@firstgenliving

"When older people ask me how young people are affording nice things that they wouldn’t even buy for themselves,” she said.

“I tell them it’s because we can’t afford anything else.”

“Homeownership or starting a family is so out of reach that we’re using that down payment or kid money on whatever it is we can’t afford that’ll bring us a semblance of the kind of adulthood we were promised.

"When houses are a million dollar plus and an older couple will likely outbid us anyway, we’re gonna relinquish any lingering delusions about homeownership.”

And there were plenty of people who agreed with Melchor's pretty pessimistic world view.

Piling into the comments, other Gen-Zers shared their own experience of this exact conundrum.

Angel Santana/Getty Images

"My mother asking me when I'm gonna stop traveling and buy a house," wrote one user. "I can't afford a house but I can travel."

Another commented: "Houses are legit 1M+ and our families bought those same houses for less than 200k make it make sense!"

"Future is not guaranteed, is crumbling before our eyes," remarked on nihilistic TikToker. "Enjoying what we have while we can is the way to go."

While someone else added: "Older people telling me I should wait till I’m old to have fun, knowing I’ll be weak, and could have health problems at 60."

If that's not the positive message we all need at Christmas, I don't know what is.

Topics: UK News, Cost of Living, TikTok, Viral, Social Media

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

@SmithersDom