5 Sneaky Reasons You're Spending More Than You Want To

Long lines are a funny thing—they can frustrate us ("Forty-five minutes for a cookie?"), intrigue us ("Those cookies must be amazing!") and, new findings show, influence how much we end up buying ("I'll take 12."). A recent study by researchers at Georgetown University found that when people spend a longer time waiting in a line, their consumption—whether of cookies, tech gadgets or deeply discounted books—tends to increase, perhaps because they feel they need a reward after putting in so much time waiting. To avoid overspending, decide exactly what you're going to buy, or how much you're going to spend, before you queue up.