5 Sneaky Reasons You're Spending More Than You Want To
New research reveals surprising traps we fall into when we take out our wallets.
By Lynn Andriani
You're Afraid of Looking Cheap
Americans spend billions of dollars every year on gifts—holiday presents alone set the average person back $419. Sometimes, though, the perfect gift is not expensive at all—yet we shy away from giving it for that very reason. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that we're often unsure whether the recipient will like a sentimental gift, but we're confident they'll like a superficial gift. So, we buy them a gift card to their favorite store, instead of giving them a framed picture of us and them together—which, the study shows, they may actually prefer.
Published 10/03/2017