Fortune - We all make some bad decisions when we’ve had a few too many. And more and more frequently, it’s costing us money.
A study by the personal finance website Finder.com says Americans spent $39.4 billion on spontaneous drunken purchases in the past year. That’s a significant step up from the $30.4 billion the previous year.
According to the site, 26% of the people surveyed admitted to making a purchase while they’re tipsy (or worse). If you extrapolate that to the nation’s population, it works out to 53.4 million intoxicated shoppers spending an average drunken amount of $736.
Men are spending more than women, averaging $870 per year. And millennials are averaging $1,047 per year (as opposed to $466 for baby boomers and $469 for Generation X).
The average spend per person has gone up substantially in the three years Finder.com has been tracking drunk spending. In 2017, the average spend per person was just $206, while last year it climbed to $448.
GUILTY. I need to make a rule not to have my phone on me when I'm drinking...it's too easy nowadays with Instagram ads and spam emails that lead you directly to the checkout page with alllll your credit card information saved, it's NUTS. This happened to me yesterday afternoon having a little Sunday Funday with my lady. No recollection of handing her my phone to pick out a pair of shoes she liked and found a pair I liked and clicked "buy". But I woke up to a confirmation email saying my shoes will arrive by the end of the week and I'm out a bit more money than I thought. This happens on a fairly regular basis, so it's no surprise that Americans as a whole have a bit of a drinking and buying problem. New goal though, let's clear that $40 billion mark next year. Seems we came up short in 2018...Step it up, America. - @Traceahamilton