2011 Resolution? Pay Cash to Lose Pounds

By moneygodmother

Does it seem easier to overspend when you swipe that plastic card? You aren’t imagining it.

Recent studies show reasons why we might just be able to choose between thinner wallets and thinner bodies. Evidently paying with cash makes us reconsider spending habits, particularly on food like candy and other unhealthy sweets.

Recent studies show that’s the case. Cornell University professor Manoj Thomas said, “Certain modes of payment weaken consumers’ abilities to control their impulses.” Co-author Kapesh Kaushik Desai from State University of New York, agreed that consumers who pay with a credit or debit card will enjoy that candy purchase while someone who pulls out cash to pay will be better able to resist the caloric temptation.

So as you make your New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and/or save money, consider how the two can go together. For details on the study, check the October issue of Journal of Consumer Research.