America's Wasteful Spending Habits: From DoorDash to Dead Subscriptions

From impulse DoorDash orders to forgotten streaming subscriptions, wasteful spending is a habit for many Americans, and younger generations are leading the charge.

Nearly 1 in 10 millennials (8%) waste money every day, while 32% of Gen Z say boredom drives unnecessary purchases, according to a Motley Fool Money survey.

To reduce the impact of impulse buys on your budget, small behavioral changes, like tracking spending through budgeting tools, setting spending limits, and pausing before purchase, can make a difference. Automating transfers from a checking account to a high-yield savings account (HYSA) also helps by putting money that would otherwise be spent impulsively into a separate account.

A high-yield savings account is a type of savings account that pays a higher interest rate than a traditional bank savings account, while still offering easy access to funds. These accounts are typically offered by online banks, are FDIC-insured, and are designed for money you want to keep safe but not locked away. High-yield savings accounts are commonly used for emergency funds, short-term goals, and cash people want to protect from impulse spending while still keeping it accessible.

The most common wasteful spending habits ranked

Most Americans (83%) say they engage in wasteful spending at least occasionally, with frequent dining out topping the list at 31%. Buying food and beverages from the convenience store is the second-most common source of wasteful spending (26%), while online impulse buys, like those on Amazon, account for another 26%.

Wasteful food spending dominates the top five behaviors. One in five respondents reports unnecessary orders from delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats. Usage skews young: 28% of Gen Z and 24% of millennials report regular food delivery spending, versus 8% of baby boomers. 21% regularly discard leftovers or let food go to waste, with baby boomers slightly more likely to do so.

Paying for unused streaming subscriptions is another common form of wasteful spending: 26% of millennials, 22% of Gen X, and 9% of baby boomers admit to paying for streaming services they don't use.

Budgeting tools can provide instant clarity into what categories and retailers are responsible for more spending than individuals might think. Uncovering invisible spending and understanding how much is going towards unnecessary purchases is an important first step in tackling wasteful spending.

Millennials and Gen Z report the highest rates of wasteful spending

Younger generations are far more likely to admit they waste money, and do so more frequently. While just 1% of baby boomers say they waste money daily, that figure jumps to 6% among Gen Z and 8% among millennials.

Seventeen percent of Gen Z and 16% of millennials say they waste money a few times a week, far outpacing Gen X and boomers. And when it comes to self-control, boomers are twice as likely as Gen Z to say they never waste money.

Roughly 40% of millennials and 37% of Gen Z admit to wasting money a few times a month, compared to 75% of boomers who say they waste money less than once a month or never.

Younger generations are more prone to emotion-driven wasteful spending

From ads to emotional impulse buys, there's no shortage of spending temptations. Different generations are more likely to pull out their wallet for different triggers, but across all ages, sales and discounts are the number one driver of wasteful spending.

Sales and discounts dominate wasteful spending across the board. Nearly 6 in 10 survey respondents overall cite deals as their top trigger (58%), and that holds steady across every generation: 59% of Gen Z, 59% of millennials, 55% of Gen X, and 59% of baby boomers.

After that, the generational divide widens quickly. Other triggers are more generation-specific:

• Emotional shopping -- driven by stress or boredom -- affects 47% of Gen Z and 51% of millennials, compared with 37% of boomers.
• Digital triggers like online ads influence 28% of Gen Z and 31% of millennials, but only 18% of Gen X and 16% of boomers.
• Social influence matters more to younger consumers: 33% of Gen Z and 28% of millennials say social media trends drive impulse purchases, compared with 13% of Gen X and 4% of baby boomers. Additionally, 26% of Gen Z and 22% of millennials report that peer pressure drives spending, compared with 9% of Gen X and 5% of boomers.
  
  

Everyone falls for a good sale, but younger generations face a wider, more digital set of spending traps that older generations claim to tune out. Setting up spending limits and notifications for overspending in specific categories and retailers is a great way to create real-time accountability and cut through the noise of endless products pushed by influencers and friends on social media.

When do Americans overspend the most? When they're bored.

Shopping habits vary by generation, but boredom is the most common time that Americans open up their wallets for impulse buys. That's particularly true for Gen X, 37% of whom said they most frequently engage in wasteful spending when they're bored, compared to just 29% of baby boomers.

Older generations are more prone to wasteful spending during shopping trips and on holidays and special occasions. Younger generations are more likely to splurge online late at night or during or after social events -- a reflection of lifestyle differences between older and younger Americans.

Taking a night before making a purchase can short-circuit one-click checkout impulse buys driven by late-night boredom or wanting to keep up with the latest trend. Separating checking and savings, and automating deposits into a high-yield savings account, creates a natural separation in your finances. That helps reframe money as something to protect and grow, rather than something that's always available to spend in the moment.

Gen Z is more than twice as likely as boomers to spend $200+ per month on impulse buys

Younger generations are far more likely to drop serious cash on unplanned purchases, while boomers overwhelmingly keep their wasteful spending under $100 per month.

Only 4% of baby boomers spend more than $200 impulsively per month, compared to 10% of Gen Z and 18% of millennials. On the flip side, 58% of boomers limit impulse buys to under $100 compared to just 49% of Gen Z and 39% millennials.

Forty-six percent of millennials and 38% of Gen Z spend more than $100 per month on impulse purchases, far above the rates among older generations.

Most budgeting tools allow spending limits for specific categories and retailers, and flag purchases that exceed those limits. That type of accountability can help break unwanted spending habits.

Big impulse buys may also be driven by consumers leaving large amounts of cash in their checking accounts. Sending extra money to a savings account creates a clear mental distinction between spending money and cash set aside for an emergency fund or a larger planned expense, which can reduce the likelihood of large impulse buys.

Nearly half regret impulse buys, led by younger generations

Millennials and Gen Z are more likely than older generations to experience buyer's remorse, especially after unplanned purchases. Over half (51%) of millennials and 47% of Gen Z say they regret most of their impulse purchases. Just 36% of boomers and 43% of Gen X say the same.

Only 21% of all survey respondents say they never regret impulse buys. Regret is the norm, not the exception.

To avoid impulse purchases that turn into regrets, wait 24 hours to decide if the item is really worth buying or set a spending cap on unplanned spending, with anything exceeding it triggering a pause.

Tackle wasteful spending with high-yield savings accounts and budgeting tools

From boredom-driven buys to social-media-fueled splurges, younger generations admit to being the most susceptible to wasteful spending, but the result is the same for everyone: less saved and more regret.

Simple behavioral changes, such as waiting a night before buying, using budgeting tools, and automating savings, can redirect impulse spending toward long-term savings habits. These tools add structure, separation, and visibility to money decisions.

CDs and HYSAs

One of the most effective steps is separating spending money from savings. Moving excess cash out of a checking account, where it's easy to spend, and into a high-yield savings account or, for longer-term goals, a certificate of deposit (CD), creates a clear mental boundary. Money labeled as savings and kept in a separate account is less likely to be spent impulsively.

"When buying something feels too easy, you're way more likely to impulse spend and blow your budget without thinking twice," says Motley Fool Money personal finance expert Joel O'Leary. "Setting up automatic transfers into a high-yield savings account creates space between your spending money and your savings. That little bit of separation makes you pay attention more -- and usually save a lot more over time."

Another bonus is that the best high-yield savings accounts and CDs offer annual percentage yields (APYs) that are meaningfully higher than those of traditional savings or interest-bearing checking accounts. That means your money can grow instead of trickling into dead subscriptions or instant-checkout impulse buys.

High-yield savings accounts are interest-bearing deposit accounts that pay a higher annual percentage yield than traditional savings accounts. APY reflects both the interest rate and how often interest compounds, which means your balance can grow faster over time without taking on any risk.

What to look for

Like standard savings accounts, most high-yield savings accounts are FDIC-insured (or NCUA-insured at credit unions) up to applicable limits. Rates can change over time and may vary based on balance size, with some banks offering tiered APYs that pay higher rates on larger balances.

Common features to compare and pay attention to when choosing an HYSA include:

• Fees: Some accounts waive monthly fees only if minimum balance requirements are met
• Minimum or required balances: Higher balances may unlock better rates. Some accounts require a minimum balance.
• Tiered APYs: Interest rates that increase as balances grow
• Linked accounts: Many HYSAs are linked to a checking account for transfers, rather than daily spending
• Relationship rates: Some banks offer higher yields when accounts are paired with other deposit products
• Variable APYs: Interest rates can change over time, so monitor rates offered by different banks frequently.

It's also worth paying attention to transfer limits or processing times between accounts.

How to use high-yield accounts to lessen wasteful spending

Actionable steps to separate spending money from savings in order to cut back on wasteful spending include:

• Opening a high-yield savings account specifically for short-term goals or emergency savings. Compare the best savings accounts to make sure you're getting a competitive rate.
• Set up automatic transfers on payday so savings happen before spending.
• Consider parking extra cash in a certificate of deposit account for long-term savings, especially if you think you might be tempted to treat your savings account like a checking account.

Budgeting tools and apps

Budgeting tools can make spending easier to track and harder to ignore. Most wasteful spending is unplanned -- like food delivery, social media-driven purchases, or boredom buys -- or invisible, like charges for unused subscriptions.

Budgeting apps counter that by surfacing spending patterns in real time and painting a clear picture of where your money is going. When it's obvious where your money is going and how much is being spent, it's easier to reflect on spending decisions and habits.

The best budgeting tools can:

• Automatically categorize transactions, giving a clear picture of spending habits
• Set spending limits by category or retailer and flag overspending
• Show trends that reveal where money regularly leaks so you can cut subscriptions or be aware of other patterns to address

Together, automated savings and awareness around spending habits are a powerful combination that doesn't rely on constant discipline. Less money sitting idle in a checking account means fewer impulse buys. More awareness of your spending means fewer small expenses quietly add up. Over time, savings will grow, spending will shrink, and you won't feel stressed about staying on track.