Saturday, 25 February 2017

Do you really need this shit? – Amazon Contemplate forces you to think twice about your purchases


Does your credit card balance bear the scars of impulsive online purchases?

Amazon Contemplate is a Chrome extension that just may help.


Amazon Contemplate in action, saving another credit card from a fate worse than, exactly the same as, debt
Credit: maxdore123/Chrome web store

LifeHacker – “Amazon Contemplate Forces You To Think Twice About Your Amazon Purchases”
https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2017/02/amazon-contemplate-forces-you-to-think-twice-about-your-amazon-purchases/

Get the extension at:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/amazon-contemplate/cepclempoeggcpgbmomhpalbcekpnccl

Is your credit card debt more than you are comfortable with? Psychological studies show that people are, in general, more likely to spend, & even pay more for the same item, when credit is available.

Psychology Today – “Why We Overspend With Credit”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/retail-therapy/201306/why-we-overspend-credit

Many financial advisers suggest cutting up your credit card(s).

LearnVest – “I Cut Up My Credit Cards – & Paid Off $30,000”
https://www.learnvest.com/2013/03/i-cut-up-my-credit-cards-and-paid-off-30000/

Your first thought may be, “But what about online purchases?” Well that's the point of the extension – online purchases can lead to buying shit you don't really need. Way round this is, rather than literally cutting up your credit card, go to your financial institution, close your credit card account, & replace it with a debit card. This is equally acceptable to online stores & you’re spending your own money, rather than getting (further) into debt.
/ Chrome extension Amazon Contemplate impulse buy credit card debt bankrupt bankruptcy convenient buy just budget site too tempting Amazon Contemplate Chrome extension forces you to wait 30 seconds before you make an Amazon purchase pops up click add something to your cart asks if you really want to buy you're thinking about buying close tab save your cash wait for it to timeout proceed with your purchase annoying that's the point if you have a hard time resisting Amazon this tool helps habit thinking about your spending link below think before you spend impulse control self control what about online purchases responsible adult credit cards financial instrument more convenient carry and use than cash smooth consumption over time borrow from the future credit cards can be dangerous psychological reasons urge to pursue goals closest to completion drives people focus repaying small debts first interest rates leaving money on the table experimental research credit cards stimulate overspending willing to pay more same product using credit using cash trait-based explanations credit card premium people spend more with credit credit card premium consistently observed psychological forces that underlie less psychologically painful swipe credit card physically hand over cash Manoj Thomas colleagues spending differences tightwads chronically find spending painful spendthrifts don’t find spending painful enough smaller people were required to use credit to make purchases people were required to use cash credit anesthetize pain of paying catch up to the spending levels spendthrifts credit reduce the sting of payment also stimulates desire experiments Richard Feinberg manipulated credit card logos visible participants how much they would be willing to pay cash products Feinberg hypothetical willingness pay actual cash donations charity significantly greater credit card logos visible replicated Priya Raghubir and Joydeep Srivastava results suggest consumers have been conditioned associate credit card logos consumption exposure credit card logos stimulate craving smelling fresh cookies stimulates hunger emotional factors cognitive factors contribute credit card premium credit limits credit users benchmarks compare prices research Dilip Soman and Amar Cheema high credit limits signal future earnings potential consumers with limited credit experience expected earnings make prices seem relatively small stimulates spending Work by Carey Morewedge colleagues credit limits themselves make purchases appear small seem less expensive available credit wallet /