What the Holidays Reveal About Our Broken Relationship With Money — And How Crypto Can Fix It
Why the short-term spending mindset is the product of modern banking and how a long-term, crypto-minded approach can fix it.
Here’s a worrying statistic that came out of Black Friday 2025:
“A total of 95% of Black Friday shopping ($11.2B) was financed.
And, 67% ($7.9B) was financed on debt that consumers do not expect to be able to pay in the next 30 days.”
(Shared by Adam Cochran)
https://medium.com/media/e59564c7bb76d5e053af1a436aab1bbc/href
While I’m sure Klarna is thrilled with its 45% Black Friday growth, those of us in crypto who view the modern banking system with distrust can only see this as a symptom and a sign that something is desperately wrong with how we view time and money. Something is broken.
The fiat savings spiral (a short story)
I was never an investor, but I was a hardcore saver.
Just a person who worked and side-hustled because I believed savers were rewarded. I wanted a little interest, maybe enough for a house deposit one day. Is that so much for a millennial to ask?…
I didn’t understand central banking, inflation, or crypto. Fast forward a few years and I realised those “savings” had been quietly eaten away. They were tiny compared to how much house deposits cost where I lived. Who wants to put down what little money they’ve earned when they had the most energy in their life, on a house they might not own… well, ever?
Sadly I didn’t discover crypto at that moment. Instead, I did what many people do when saving feels pointless: I spent.
I spent on clothes, shoes, hobbies, and a handful of rubbish online courses. At one point, I had nine pairs of Nike trainers, not because I liked them (barely worn) or collected them, but probably for that immediate dopamine hit you get from spending. Most of that stuff is gone now, sold or given away.
I’d become a product of a system that punishes saving and rewards spending.
Growth at any cost, higher-risk spending, a short-term time preference.
These were my spending habits until 2020…
The 2020 reset
Like many of you, 2020 was a year of uncertainty for me…
Fewer freedoms (lockdowns)
Less control
MORE inflation
I fell down the rabbit hole hard, discovered crypto Twitter and made Bitcoin 60% of my personality (sorry, family).
Slowly, the short-term spending mentality started to reverse…
• I got rid of things I didn’t need
• I started pricing things in crypto
• I started saving again in hard money
It wasn’t about chasing a pump or getting rich quick (wen moon?). It was about taking back control and owning something that (in my view) resists the slow theft of inflation.
And this brings me back to how we think about spending and saving during the holidays…
Rethinking what’s valuable
At the time of writing, we’re nearing the end of the year holiday season.
Let’s be honest, most of what’s in your inbox and holiday shopping carts right now will be forgotten by January.
We’re also running some offers, but I wanted to slow down and say something that feels more important.
This season doesn’t have to be about rushing to buy more. It can be about taking care of the things that actually matter.
Like your security. Your future. Your peace of mind.
A new jacket or trainers could be nice, but your crypto setup might still need attention…
Maybe your backup is still only written on paper.
Maybe you’ve been meaning to get a second backup device.
Or maybe your recovery plan needs a refresh, and you could use some help exploring Trezor’s more advanced features.
We’ve seen people lose access after accidents that could have been prevented. A stronger setup now might save a lot later.
Not enough people talk about the silent panic that comes from being in a bull market and not having your security tight. If you’re not confident in your setup, you’re more likely to make a mistake.
Buying back peace of mind
I still think about those ugly Nike trainers and the bitcoin I could have had instead. It’s a reminder that the short-term dopamine of consuming rarely buys long-term satisfaction.
If you’re in the same boat, this holiday season is a great time to slow down. Rethink gifts and safeguard what you already own.
If you need help with that, we are running a Holiday Sale that can help you secure your crypto for less → get up to 30% off Trezor hardware wallets + free worldwide shipping (code: HOLIDAY25). No pressure. Just a reminder that protecting what matters is the best gift you can give yourself.
https://medium.com/media/cae2bb21a99a327014f1f15514794182/href
— Henry Windle, Senior Content Marketer at Trezor
What the Holidays Reveal About Our Broken Relationship With Money — And How Crypto Can Fix It was originally published in Trezor Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.