The Psychology of Saving Money: How to Train Your Brain to Save

It’s called the “$100 Bill Challenge.” Mac Gardner, a financial literacy advocate, shows elementary school students a $100 bill and asks them how they might use it. Nine students out of ten say they would spend it. This says a lot about the psychology of saving money — Gardner says that Americans “are programmed to consume at an early age.”

Maybe that’s why it’s so difficult to cut back on those gourmet coffees on the way to work. But that’s also why it’s so difficult to build your bank balance and develop a long-term savings plan.

Fortunately, the more you understand the psychology of saving money, the easier it will be to develop sound financial habits. As you discover more about your own money mindset, you’ll also learn that there are proven ways to change.

The Behavioral Science Behind Saving

Your saving and spending habits are governed by a small constellation of behavioral biases. And like most biases, these unconscious assumptions influence your behavior outside of your own awareness. Here’s just a sampling of what science has to say about your financial fitness.

Mental Accounting

Mental accounting refers to the way you might classify your funds differently based on…