Here are four money-losing brain tricks you should watch out for.
1. Your brain treats the same amount of money differently in different situations.(你的大脑在不同的场景下对相同价格的判断是不同的)
Which of these will save you more money — a coupon for $25 off a $50 clothing purchase, or a voucher for $25 off a $2,000 couch?
They both save you the exact same amount of money — $25. But according to financial journalist Gary Belsky and Cornell University psychology professor Thomas Gilovich, who co-wrote “Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes,” studies show that thanks to “mental accounting,” our brains have a tendency to treat dollars differently depending on the size of a transaction or amount of money in question.
2. Your brain ignores the 99 cents.(你的大脑会认为99元比100元便宜很多！)
Thanks to the “left digit effect,“ our brains put more emphasis on the numbers on the left side of a price than the right side of a price. That means when retailers make a price $19.99, our brains think that price is much better than $20 — even though it’s just one cent away. One way to check whether that 0.99 price is really a good deal or not is to use your smartphone when shopping and compare prices of the same product at other stores.
3. Your brain treats credit differently from cash.(你的大脑会认为刷信用卡比付现金要合算)
Because we aren’t parting with money immediately when we pay with a card, it’s easier for us to justify spending more — our brains feel like that money is an issue for the future, not today. Rewards cards make things even more difficult — not only do we not have to part with the “real” money until the future, but we’re also earning points, miles or cash back, so it’s easy to justify spending more.
The solution? Never use your credit card to justify buying things you wouldn’t normally. When you’re going shopping, make a list and stick to it. You can also withdraw cash and vow to spend no more than that amount.
4. Your brain equates price with quality.(你的大脑会认为价格更高的商品质量也更好)
Your brain will often think it’s a better deal to spend more money on something because you must be getting higher quality with the higher price. And spending more money to get a higher-quality item isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For example, if you could spend $100 to get a high-quality pair of shoes that will last for 10 years, or you could spend $40 to get a pair of shoes that would only last for one year, the $100 shoes are a better deal.