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PaperclipPerfector  10mo ago (text post)   4025 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for June 14, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Those very rich people who are extremely thrifty are not maximizing their money, because their cognition is better spent on their work than on a hundred dollars here or there. But I think what’s going on is psychological: those small moments of spendthriftiness increase the perceived valuation of money, thus increasing their motivation to work harder (even though they already have enough money for multiple lifetimes of satisfying any whim). They go into work after picking the cheapest gas station, then when they see the dollar signs on their monitor it is imbued with salient meaning that is otherwise lost through habit.

Alternatively, people just like saving a buck regardless of their financial position.

I’m thinking specifically about those for whom “where should I get gas” or “what’s the least expensive bag of spinach” is genuinely less productive than spending that same amount of time at work. Even if you make 500k, two minutes of your time is $8. But it’s probably more than that, because decision-based willpower depletion etc

Lots of labor doesn't really have the ability to gain additional marginal income with a couple minutes of work though. Plenty of people are salaried and don't have a straightforward way to earn a few bucks. Doing something like spending a couple hours to figure out how to move credit card points around to save a grand on flights can pretty easily be worth it.

Even in the case of really trivial amounts of money, I think people just gain a psychic benefit from feeling like they got a deal. Should you actually give a shit about a sale on potato chips? Probably not, just buy them if you like them, but it feels better to get the brand that's BOGO.

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