Paying by card hurts less (literally)

Psychologists call it "the pain of paying": spending triggers a real discomfort, similar to a small loss. And not all payments hurt the same. Handing over banknotes, watching them leave your hand, hurts a lot; tapping a card — or a phone — barely registers.

In a classic MIT experiment, basketball tickets were auctioned among students: half had to pay in cash, the other half by card. On average, the card group bid far more — in some cases close to double — for the very same tickets.

Every technological leap — cards, contactless, phone payments — files that friction down a little further. It's wonderfully convenient, and precisely because of that, we spend more without noticing.

Hence a home remedy with science behind it: for the spending you want to control, go back to cash. If it hurts, it's working.