Leaving the credit cards home is a time-tested way to curb spending. Now a pair of marketing professors may have found another way to do the trick: carrying crisp new bills and shopping alone. (click below to read more)
The study found that people spent less when given cash in fresh bills compared with worn ones. When gambling for the prize of a new bill, people were far more willing to risk dirty old bills than clean new ones. There was an exception to the pattern, though: When others were watching, test subjects were more likely to spend new bills than old ones. "People want to rid themselves of worn bills because they are disgusted by the contamination from others," the authors write, "whereas people put a premium on crisp currency because they take pride in owning bills that can be spent around others."
"Money Isn't Everything, but It Helps If It Doesn't Look Used: How the Physical Appearance of Money Influences Spending," Fabrizio Di Muro and Theodore Noseworthy, Journal of Consumer Research (October)
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