Subimal Chatterjee is a SUNY distinguished teaching professor of marketing in Binghamton University’s School of Management. He researches consumer behavior, irrational decision-making and how value perceptions are shaped. Here he offers a tip to avoid holiday overspending.
Most spending elicits two types of emotion — the joy/thrill as you spend, and (often) the regret the day after that you have spent too much. If you think that you are likely to overspend, train yourself to anticipate the day-after emotion today, i.e., ask yourself as you are buying, how would I feel the day after, a week after? Anticipating that you will regret your purchases in the future just. might do the trick.
