Introduction. The phenomenon of consumer behavior has been studied to a greater extent on the example of youth, since they represent one of the most numerous socio-demographic groups in terms of composition and are the main source of relevant information and a resource for the development of the modern world. The relevance of this research lies in the insufficient study of the factors of propensity to purchase expensive goods. The purpose of the work is to study the relationship between the need for expensive purchases and the economic well-being of young people. Theoretical analysis. A comparative analysis revealed the relationship between the indicators of propensity to expensive purchases and subjective economic well-being. Empirical analysis to conduct an empirical study, 300 questionnaires were distributed among young people aged 18 to 30 years in order to study consumer activity. Factorial and correlation analyses allowed us to identify three main factors (the desire for functionally significant acquisitions, the desire to acquire the attributes of hobbies and the desire for prestige attributes) characterizing the need for expensive purchases. Conclusion. The results of the research have shown that the desire to possess expensive goods is determined mainly by three factors. At the same time, when buying expensive goods, modern Russian youth places the main emphasis (24% of the total variance) on their functional component.