Here’s the uncomfortable part about money mistakes: they feel completely rational while you’re making them. That’s not stupidity — it’s a set of mental shortcuts your brain runs automatically. You can’t delete them. But you can out-move them.
The biases that cost you most
- Anchoring. “Was $200, now $80” hijacks what you’re willing to pay. Counter-move: ask “What would I pay if I’d never seen the original price?”
- Loss aversion. Keeping a subscription you never use feels safer than cancelling. Counter-move: reframe it — cancelling isn’t a loss, it’s a raise.
- Sunk cost. You keep paying for something because you’ve already paid so much. Counter-move: money already spent is gone; decide from today only.
- Present bias. Future-you always loses to right-now-you. Counter-move: automate the good decision so future-you doesn’t have to win the argument.
- Social proof. Everyone’s buying it, so you do too. Counter-move: ask whether you’d want it if no one could see it.
Notice the pattern: none of these are fixed by trying harder. They’re fixed by a small, specific move made in the moment money’s on the line.
Ten moves, in your pocket
We turned the ten biases that cost people most into ten pocket-sized cards — each with a “spot it / say this / stop it again” move you can use at the register. That’s The Bias Pack.
→ The Bias Pack ($14) · new here? Start free with the Money Leak.
Educational content only. Not financial advice.