There can be a lot of guilt around spending money. For many of us, that’s been ingrained since childhood: we’ve all heard the warnings about what happens when you don’t save for big financial milestones like a wedding, buying a home, or retirement.
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, a financial therapist, works with a lot of fellow millennials who were cautioned to save and not spend — even if it was on something that brought them joy. “I think a lot of it has to do with the financial experts who were available to millennials and Gen Xers: they were very shame-based, very restrictive, very prescriptive. So this idea of, god forbid, spending your money on something you enjoy, was not even in their realm,” she says. “These are the experts that were saying the reason millennials couldn’t afford homes was because of avocado toast.”
Experts Featured in This Article
Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, LMSW, is a financial therapist, podcast host, speaker, social worker, and author of “The Financial Anxiety Solution.”
Delyanne Barros is a financial expert and podcast host.
In recent years, that mindset has started to shift. Many younger folks and experts alike now recognize that it’s not the avocado toast moving the needle; widespread structural factors like rising mortgage rates and the high cost of living are. And many of us are making more value-aligned purchases in the process. The truth is, many people find purchases in their life that they justify, no matter the cost — maybe it’s a once-in-a-lifetime concert or a travel keepsake. Less often, though, do we think about the day-to-day purchases we make that we never regret. Those daily items that we literally could not live without, or that simply make our daily lives easier, more joyful, or more comfortable. Welcome to a new term we’re coining here at Popsugar: “feel-good spending.”
These purchases might range from everything to a gym membership to a baby carrier, but they often reflect our deepest values. They’re an embodiment of the belief that feeling good is the secret to living well, and we’re here to celebrate them.
Delyanne Barros, a money coach, believes that the act of simply reflecting on your feel-good spending can help infuse your life with more joy. “Most people don’t know what actually brings them joy. They think they do, but what they’re used to is experiencing little dopamine boosts that just gets them through the day,” she says. “Knowing what actually brings joy to yourself takes self-exploration. Explore new hobbies and expose yourself to new people and ask them what brings them joy. You might discover the things you love aren’t actually that expensive.”
With all this in mind, we asked several Popsugar editors to divulge the purchases and products that bring joy to them in their daily lives. Keep reading for our picks — and might we suggest reflecting on your own feel-good spending habits? We promise it’ll spark joy.
