Revenge Spending

~ snakesinthegrass2014
The American two car family. Source: Clipart Library

A recent article in the New York Times on the economy introduced me to a new term: revenge spending. It is characterized by “spike[s] in recreational spending and vacation splurging that followed coronavirus lockdowns.” In addition to all of the other economic maladies, this particular aspect of consumer behavior in part helps to explain why inflation has been so persistent.

People are mad, frustrated, hemmed-in, you name it. Some of us have been spending so much that collectively we’ve juiced up the prices. Why have hotel rooms been so expensive? Because everyone wants one.

The good news is that apparently conditions are finally beginning to cool. Demand for travel and other services aren’t as red-hot as they’ve been, and costs are slowly coming down. The above NYT article further explains that consumers are getting back to more “normal living patterns,” which I suppose is a euphemistic way of saying that people are possibly living within their means again. See? It only took a pandemic, inflation, and constant warnings of a recession to get us all to wean ourselves off of that dumb avocado toast. I knew something good might come from all of this.

But this actual term, revenge spending, fascinates me. At whom are people actually taking revenge? Dr. Fauci?

Good grief.

The term maybe new for me but the behavior itself does have a ring of familiarity to it. During my first marriage I had a front row seat to the phenomenon, although at the time my thoughts never went beyond, “Holy crap, where the hell has all the money gone to?!”

In my current life, it’s thankfully not something that is much of a factor. Gorgeous does have a predilection for buying cookbooks. Lots of them in fact. Through a process similar to osmosis, they constantly show up outside our door in packages of all sizes and shapes. But I don’t view those purchases as revenge; I see them within a prism of passion. Or they’re an actual addiction. You decide. I’m too busy stuffing my face to actually figure out the nomenclature.

But I do hear you out there: enough with the critical observations of spouses. What about me? Am I revenge spending and not even realizing it? And once again, if so, against whom?

Let’s start with cars. Our auto insurance bill for the next 12 months arrived earlier this week, and it’s up over $400 over from last year. That amount astounded me. We’ve had no accidents, tickets, moving violations, etc., though we have each aged another year. A call to the company’s representative was illuminating. I was told that general inflationary costs along with the litigious driving environment that is Florida, have combined to drive up the costs of policies even for safe drivers.

We are not amused.

My lovely bride and I discussed it all over coffee one afternoon, weighing the pros and cons of possibly getting rid of the 16 year old Toyota (my car) and just keeping the newer vehicle from 2020 (her car). Gorgeous voted to just keep one car in order to save money. I balked. Earlier in the year I spent a small fortune repairing the Toyota, and I can’t bear the thought of not getting my money’s worth. I’m either getting revenge at my mechanic, our insurance company, or both. Again, you decide.

I’m also not ready to be a one car couple. I admit to the luxury of owning two vehicles even if we don’t strictly need them. It’s not the same thing as staying every year at the Maui Four Seasons, but in my own way I’m sticking it to The Man by keeping that car. Revenge spending? You betcha.

Source: Tampa Bay Times

Oh dear, this is turning into confession time isn’t it?

I’m a sucker for the lottery. It’s just so damn enticing, all those millions that could be mine. Why, I could even own THREE cars. Your humble blogger has a $10 weekly addiction budget for a couple of state and national multi-state jackpot games. I’ve even had some bragging moments, to wit: a $200 lotto win a couple of weeks ago, along with a smattering of free tickets and small amounts of under $10 during the rest of the year. Over time, of course, I’m nothing but a big fat loser. I also delude myself that the lottery revenue is contributing to the support of public education, though in reality I fear it’s actually funding our governor’s travel agency sideline.

Still, a boy can dream of riches. Revenge spending? Nah. Just move along there pardner, and don’t rain on my parade.

Source: Me!

A big passion of mine is listening to music. My phone’s music library is chock full of tunes that I’ve transferred from my CD collection, plus those that — [NOTE: COPYRIGHT LAWSUIT ALERT!!] — I’m able to find at the public library. I’ll also show my age here by admitting to still being in the occasional practice of downloading songs from online stores, such as the erstwhile iTunes (now called “Apple Music”).

Revenge spending? I think not because the dollar amounts are too small to tar and feather me a profligate.

But I will share with you a recent moment where I most definitely did revenge spend concerning music. My favorite band is Genesis, and like any dutiful fan I subscribe to updates from their official online store. I admire their merchandise, especially the t-shirts, and I usually just mosey on past because they tend to be pricey. Earlier this year, however, the band issued a retrospective box set of all of their live performances on the BBC. I knew I had to have it. Home repair expenses be damned, nothing was going to stop me from buying that set. Except perhaps the band itself, because when I saw the cost listed in their official store, I thought there just had to be some kind of misunderstanding (Ha! Get it?!). Instead, I found a new, unopened copy via an authorized Amazon reseller for $20 less. I snapped it up quickly. Revenge spending or just good comparison shopping? I’m going with the former. Sorry, mates Tony, Mike, Phil, et. al.

Okay, so my tales are pretty lame when it comes to anything resembling actual revenge spending. If the worst I can point to is holding onto a 16 year old car out of stubbornness, I’m probably doing okay. I would kill for a trip to Maui, though.

How about you? Do you revenge spend?

Until next time…

41 thoughts on “Revenge Spending”

  1. Hmmm….maybe…not sure. After almost 3 years of staying home, it updated my wardrobe. New jeans and tee shirts. Nothing too extravagant but I didn’t shop at Walmart either. We are also a 2 car family. It’s ridiculous but we aren’t ready to give up that instant freedom of not having to wait until someone gets back from wherever they are. Are insurance went up too but not by that much and we are older!

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    1. That individual freedom we have silently speaks at a surprisingly loud volume, eh Kate? I’m not so sure how long we’ll keep the two cars, but I sure want it for now. Yeah, we’re definitely getting penalized for living in Florida with our insurance rates. Economic pressures will probably drive our decision (pardon the pun!).

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  2. Hi, Marty – Great post. Very information and thought-provoking (exactly what I have come to exect on this site)!
    To ease your mind and the minds of other readers, Richard and I are a one-car family and have been for many years. It definitely does have its ‘excuse-spending’ drawbacks.
    Regular coffees out? But we only have one-car between two of us.
    New golf clubs for Richard? Ditto the above (+ its the only way he could improve his game.)
    The newest Samsung phone for Donna? Ditto the above (+ I need good quality images for my blog).
    Trip last April to Hong Kong? Ditto the above (+ we wanted to see our youngest son).
    Trip to Portugal this coming fall? Ditto the above (+we want to get in another Camino while we are still fit enough to walk it.)
    See a pattern here? Two cars would likely have been cheaper for us after all!

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  4. Great to hear your latest – ummm – insights, Marty!
    🙂
    The thing about the term ‘revenge spending’ is that ultimately the one spending on revenge is still plunking down hard earned cash for what???? Rage against the machine? That ‘machine’ probably coined the term in the first place in order to obtain that hard earned cash.
    Just, you know, some further ramblings along your subject matter!
    I much prefer the concept of ‘indulgent spending’. It conjures up a much better scenario – in my mind at least!
    😉
    ps-I hope Gorgeous is still cooking up a storm for you (and herself, too!) Anything with Viet Cinnamon lately?

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    1. Laura, your comment is infinitely better than my post, which is precisely what I would expect of you! Yes, I agree it really is a sense of raging isn’t it? That helplessness that some feel, but the reaction is ultimately so self-defeating. It certainly does manifest into a kind of indulgence, absolutely. Hard as I tried, I couldn’t match anything like what people are doing because my financial self-control is always on auto pilot!

      Gorgeous is indeed back in the kitchen and enjoying begin back in the swing of things. I had to ask her just now about the Vietnamese cinnamon: she said she used it just yesterday to bake some Greek cookies — which is hilarious to me. 😉

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      1. Yum! Makes great sense to me, as Greek cuisine is heavy on cinnamon and for those of us addicted to the Vietnamese cinnamon it’s a natural! I don’t suppose Gorgeous would care to share the cookie recipe with your readers? Doesn’t hurt to ask, I always say!
        😉

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  6. I knew it was time for a financial report of some sort, and I love the idea of revenge spending. I do not adhere to it because I’m too pragmatic in my approach to money, but I like it. 🙂 We still have two vehicles even though we could probably get by with one, but I’m not ready to give up my truck and all its hauling capabilities. I’d just have to buy a small trailer, and I much prefer driving my paid off truck. If I had a partner with a cookbook passion but one that actually cooked, I’d be thrilled beyond belief and stuffing my face also. I think life is good, Marty. 🙂 Come back soon.

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    1. Truth be told, the last thing I really wanted to write was another financial one! But once I read that NYT article, I realized it was a post-in-the-making. The blogging muse is hard to turn off, as you will know!

      Oh, I do miss having a truck. I had a Ford Ranger when I lived out in CA’s Central Valley and loved it. But I really have no need for one unlike yourself, Judy.

      I’ll try to write more… it’s really been a matter of writer’s block more than anything else. 😬

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  7. I’m not sure “revenge spending” is the best word to describe vacations, a second car, music or some indulgence of a beloved hobby. I once worked with a woman who would buy herself something really nice anytime her husband gave money to his kids from a previous marriage. Now, that is revenge spending. I have to agree with the previous suggested term, indulgent spending, to describe post-covid splurges. Now, my husband and I have one car, going on three years now, and it works well for us. When I go to the pool by myself, I ride my ebike. Dan walks to his weekly Euchre card games which is right here in the neighborhood. On the rare event where we’ve had a conflict with us both needing a car, we’ve used Uber. I know that’s happened once, maybe twice. Auto insurance is going up here in Missouri, too.

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    1. It was a term that certainly caught my eye that’s for sure. I get the gist of it, and I suppose there certainly are people who were so angry at the covid restrictions of 2020 and 2021 that they did act out in financially irresponsible ways in relation to their actual incomes. But as you indirectly point out, Betty, that’s a bit of a large swath of the population in which to paint such a broad stroke. Nevertheless, one of the reasons inflation has been so difficult to harness is that people are spending! So it’s good to see a bit less of it to get prices to come down.

      You guys will be a model for us in a few years when we do end up jettisoning the second car. 👍

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  9. Hmmm…not sure what a trip to Maui would cost you and Gorgeous but here’s a thought: put $10/week into the “Maui fund” instead of the lottery dealer’s till? Plus the savings from insuring and maintaining a 2nd vehicle? No need to kill anyone then 😉.

    “People are possibly living within their means again” – you and I have both experienced people who NEVER live within their (or their spouse’s) means. Wonder what their idea of revenge spending looks like (a scary thought!).

    Deb

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    1. Oh, you absolute kill joy, Deb. Stop playing the lottery? I’m crushed! 😆 No, believe me, I think about that regularly! Once I started distributions from my retirement savings, I opened a new IRA to direct bi-weekly deposits from my part-time job as a “mental counter” to the pain of withdrawing. Each time I buy a ticket I remind myself that’s another dollar that could go into that fund!

      Yeah, I have a few family members — older than me, I should add — who continue to buy-buy-buy, spend-spend-spend like wildfire. I shudder to think what their “plan” is for when it’s all gone. Ugh!

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  10. Hhhhm, have not heard of this term. Still having a hard time wrapping my head around it. Sounds like something that will now be a “thing” because it was in the media. Still, a thought provoking post. Regarding cars, I…..just….can’t….share. Maybe it’s because I was single for 20 years before we got married in 2020? It really does represent a sense of independence for me. Though, on the occasions we did have to share, it wasn’t that hard. Thanks for the post!

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    1. I know. I hear you, Tracey. I’m at sixes and sevens about the phrase with sometimes understanding it and at other moments rejecting it out of hand. I’d indeed hate for it to become something that is normalized and accepted. It should never be accepted to live beyond one’s own means!

      I do get the independence about a car. There’s something about it being YOURS, almost as an extension of your own personal self/freedoms/desires, etc. In my own case, it’s also about it being messy or spotless depending on whatever moods I’m in during a certain period. 😆

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  11. Hi Marty. Just about everything costs a good bit more than it did compared to late 2021, which I think is about when inflation hit in. It seems to me that a trip to the supermarket costs at least 35% more now than it did then. But one thing I’ve noticed is that the price of eggs has come way down recently. Maybe other products will start doing the same. See ya — Neil

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    1. It seems hit or miss doesn’t it, Neil? Eggs and bacon have dropped, but fruits and vegetables are still high along with some services such as auto repair and medical. Hopefully the trends will be favorable as we get even further into the year. Many thanks for reading.

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  12. Crikey, I clearly got my post-pandemic behaviour wrong, I didn’t go on a spend-a-thon at all. Regardless I am getting royally beaten up by inflation and Every Single Thing going up by ridiculous amounts. I’ve just had my car insurance renewal. It usually takes a quick quotation generated on a rival site and one phone call to get it reduced. This time, although it’s gone up, that quotation proved it could be a lot worse. So I’m renewing, with bad grace if not actual gratitude.

    I totally get what you mean by not being ready to become a one car family. I don’t know how I’d get by without mine. All the necessary and practical stuff aside, I tend to suffer from a bit of cabin fever due to working from home, which is best relieved by a quick run out in the car just to reassure myself that I’m not hemmed in. Silly I know, but it works for me. That’s my post-pandemic piece of behaviour…

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    1. I’ve always used a similar method with car insurance rates too, Debs. But the fly-in-the-ointment here is that in order to get the lowest rates, all the insurance companies now want to install an app on drivers’ phones for the first six months to measure driving habits. We’ve always passed with flying colors, but it drives Gorgeous nuts and makes her nervous (which is ironic given the app’s intentions). So staying put with one company allows one to avoid that scenario, though it’s also means we have to ensure the rate hike. A “Sophie’s Choice” type of dilemma.

      I’m just not ready to give up my old junker, which still runs great though admittedly looks like hell. I too like that freedom and not feel guilty about taking the only car. I give that a few more years and then I’ll give in. 😩

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  13. I’ve been seeing this ‘revenge spending’ term around, too. I’m not clear about it either. It seems like another journalistic made-up term guaranteed to upset someone, more than an actual reflection of reality. That being said, I’m not much for spending money when I don’t have to so I can’t think of a thing I’ve splurged on now that we’re post-Covid.

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    1. My suspicion, Ally, is that there might be some morsels of truth to it, what with whatever vestiges of anger over public health restrictions that the lockdown period and after. But like any phenomenon, I suspect it will either ebb — as it seems to be doing — or morph into some other related outrage. We do seem to “enjoy” outrage now.

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  14. Hi Marty, The concept “revenge spending” is new to me, yet, I see the truth in it. There is a feeling of busyness and craziness in the travel industry from some of the stories I hear from friends. Ha, ha, the image of you stuffing your face, thanks to the influx of cookbooks…thank you for my smile. 😊

    We have 2 vehicles, one is a truck for our 40-year-old 8 foot camping – yes, I realize we are into luxury. Dont’ judge me. 😊And, Genesis…I get it! Also, a ‘need’ not a ‘want!’ A great post, as always, Marty. Say hi to Gorgeous for me.

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  15. Did we ever get an answer on who people are extracting revenge from? I am mystified by the whole concept of the term revenge spending. I’m sure psychologists have a reasonable explanation of what the spending is about – probably not revenge. We have 2 cars here in Chicago and everything is expensive about it – the tags, the insurance, the gas, the maintenance (which has been – knock on wood – pretty low. Both cars are Toyotas.) and the required City of Chicago stickers. But we are not ready to give one up. Yet. Hubs brings up the subject at times, but AGMA ain’t in for that yet!

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    1. Ha! I definitely understand. There’s something so liberating, possibly also uniquely American (though I could be on very rocky ground by suggesting that) about having two cars. But as a famous Brit sang, “All things must pass.” So I know that’s in my future. I’m just trying to delay the day.

      I think that term “Revenge Spending” can only be explained in the abstract, and the object of the revenge is at best an amalgam of the Covid boogyman. 😉

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