Situation · Money and survival

“I spend money when I'm upset”

What could be going on

Emotional spending: Fits if buying lifts your mood for a short while and the urge follows a feeling, not a need.

Compulsive buying: Fits if you can't stop when you try, hide purchases, and the spending is harming your money or relationships.

Emotion regulation: Could be one of the few fast ways you have to change a feeling. Check what else you reach for when upset.

Present bias: Check whether feeling better now outweighs a later cost you can see clearly at the time.

Addiction as an attempted solution to pain (Maté): Fits if the spending eases a pain you'd rather not feel. Check what the feeling was just before.

Bipolar disorder and hypomania: Only fits if sprees come with little sleep, fast speech and big plans, in spells lasting days.

The last time I bought something I didn't need, what had happened in the hour before?
What do I feel when the parcel arrives, compared with when I pressed buy?