The phrase "act of spending" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing financial transactions or behaviors related to the expenditure of money.
Example: "The act of spending on luxury items can lead to financial strain if not managed properly."
Alternatives: "expenditure" or "spending behavior".
It is no longer part of the diurnal rhythm of our national life, when the act of spending a few hours in the cheap seats at the Regal required as little forethought as the act of writing home or eating fish on Friday.
Initially I feel really good about this – the sheer act of spending a lot of money does give you an ego boost – but then I catch sight of myself in profile in a mirror, and feel I bear an uncanny resemblance to Oscar Wilde, but after his spell in jail: barrel-shaped and worryingly clapped out.
And to clear up two similar phrases: a status symbol refers to the object itself, like a luxury car; whereas conspicuous consumption refers to the act of spending money on things like expensive cars but you're spending money so that other people notice.
Anyone following American politics knows that the Roberts Supreme Court has made the act of spending money the equivalent of expressing one's views.
They give a kind of broadsheet review sheen to the apparently seedy act of spending night after night in dark rooms listening to loud repetitive music surrounded by people experiencing varying levels of inebriation.
He hasn't thwarted the practically criminal act of spending an official $75 million to fob off an at-best mediocre musical, a production that is now apparently the dispiriting result of focus-group-think.
But under the Budget Control Act of 2011, spending on defense and domestic programs is capped.
"It was an act of faith, spending lots of money on fancy lingerie that I was sure no one would ever see," said Ms. Feldman, who is 46 and works in New York as the senior editorial director for The N, a digital cable network aimed at preteenagers.
Jenison then began the arduous act of painting, spending hundreds of days (shown, fortunately, selectively), putting in colors and details.
How can you describe the act of someone spending 23.49 minutes on Ganesh Chaturthi gobbling up 101 modaks and in the process, consuming close to 18,000 calories?
Living thriftily and anonymously in a city of high rollers, she allowed herself only one final act of big spending.
