The psychologist explained the effect of the fear of scarcity on savings and spending

The habit of saving and accumulating a "safety cushion" may be a consequence of the fear of shortage associated with past financial stress. Olesya Tolstukhina, a clinical psychologist at Doctor Near, told Izvestia on February 26 how to learn how to effectively use savings and reduce anxiety.

According to the expert, often the increased need to accumulate an "airbag" is the result of fear of scarcity, which is associated with past financial stress or poverty. When the situation is not yet critical, but anxiety is growing, a person begins to fear that there may be a shortage in the future, and begins to save even when there is no urgent need.

"A person accustomed to self-restraint tends to think that it will probably get worse, and then the money can be spent. That is, paradoxically, anxiety leads to retention, due to fantasies of even scarier scenes, for which "you need to save yourself." This is protection through hypercontrol — catastrophizing the future," Tolstukhina noted.

The accumulated funds become an internal "talisman", a symbol of security, and spending them is perceived as a loss of protection, the specialist added. Spending these funds means losing a sense of control and stability, which causes psychological resistance.

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As the expert emphasized, in order to reduce anxiety and restore a sense of security, it is important to admit your fear. This, according to Tolstukhina, helps to reduce its influence on behavior.

"Cognitive reappraisal also helps. You can ask yourself questions: "Why is this reserve being created?", "Does the current situation meet the criteria?", "What happens if I don't use it now?". This helps to preserve expediency and reduce economic catastrophization," she said.

At the same time, when it is difficult to spend money on health or well-being, it is useful to remind yourself: if the situation is really critical, refusing to use the reserve becomes self-harm. It is also important to remember that resources are not limited to money alone, and other sources of resilience — such as personal skills, social connections, and health — also play a significant role in ensuring security.

Yulia Tarasova, an expert on consumer behavior at the Orange payment service, said on February 17 that the family budget needs to be controlled by planning expenses by category, analyzing them, and setting limits. The main advantage of this approach lies in its adaptability to personal needs in different time periods.

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