Self-imposed spending limits function as commitment devices against temptation

Evidence

In the same way, when a person is considering a major purchase, he may well set an upper limit on what he is willing to spend and not consider going higher even for something of greater value. As these examples show, benchmarks can be used by the actor to restrain himself. In moments of calm, he can construct barriers that are difficult for him to break through under circumstances of temptation. … But these functions also depend in part on the fact that benchmarks are artificially attractive. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2570

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels Schelling’s commitment devices and Elster’s precommitment theory, plus modern libertarian paternalism. — connects to: Silicon Valley wealth display norms penalize ostentatious consumption; Aspirational consumption projects a future self rather than signaling present status — Brooke Erin Duffy, (Not) Getting Paid to Do What You Love:…, 64; Gift economies spontaneously produce self-restraint that low prices cannot — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 107