The expense you try to cut but always end up paying again
From private health insurance to Doritos: the list of small expenses Spaniards refuse to give up. Waiting times in private healthcare and the psychology of spending
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The expense that always comes back: why we never cancel Netflix or the bar coffee
Almost everyone has some expense they know they should rationally cut but can't. And don't want to. The latest discussion about responsible spending makes it clear: there are small, almost ridiculous outlays that survive every attempt at trimming. Not out of necessity, but out of whim, habit or plain laziness.
The non-negotiables: from health insurance to Doritos
Private health insurance tops the list of expenses that survive a hypothetical purge. The peace of mind of a quick appointment outweighs the monthly premium, even though waiting times in private healthcare aren't what they used to be: according to one shared experience, dermatology runs around two months, ophthalmology three, urology three. Not even Dr. Nick Riviera can shorten them. Even so, it stays. On the opposite side, streaming subscriptions pile up cancellations that never actually happen. Juggling Netflix, Disney and Prime Video becomes a carousel they don't dare stop altogether. And then there are the classics: beer, Doritos, miniature cars, coffees at the bar, the blurays filling up shelves, the Saturday breakfast at Paco's bar.
The psychology of the small expense that won't go away
The curious thing is that hardly anyone defends these expenses with rational arguments. They persist through inertia, through the tiny pleasure they provide, or through the difficulty of breaking the habit. Cancelling pay TV is a decision postponed year after year, like that piece of furniture you swear you'll throw out and it's still there. Behavioural economics explains it: the pain of losing a small pleasure outweighs the benefit of saving a few euros. And companies know it: low monthly subscriptions are the hardest to cancel because they never hurt enough to prompt action.
Responsible spending has psychological limits. Perhaps the key isn't to eliminate, but to choose which indulgence to keep. But the evidence from the debate suggests that, in practice, the indulgence always wins.
Related discussions in the forum
Almost everyone has some expense they know they should rationally cut but can't. And don't want to. The latest discussion about responsible spending makes it clear: there are small, almost ridiculous outlays that survive every attempt at trimming. Not out of necessity, but out of whim, habit or plain laziness.
The non-negotiables: from health insurance to Doritos
Private health insurance tops the list of expenses that survive a hypothetical purge. The peace of mind of a quick appointment outweighs the monthly premium, even though waiting times in private healthcare aren't what they used to be: according to one shared experience, dermatology runs around two months, ophthalmology three, urology three. Not even Dr. Nick Riviera can shorten them. Even so, it stays. On the opposite side, streaming subscriptions pile up cancellations that never actually happen. Juggling Netflix, Disney and Prime Video becomes a carousel they don't dare stop altogether. And then there are the classics: beer, Doritos, miniature cars, coffees at the bar, the blurays filling up shelves, the Saturday breakfast at Paco's bar.
The psychology of the small expense that won't go away
The curious thing is that hardly anyone defends these expenses with rational arguments. They persist through inertia, through the tiny pleasure they provide, or through the difficulty of breaking the habit. Cancelling pay TV is a decision postponed year after year, like that piece of furniture you swear you'll throw out and it's still there. Behavioural economics explains it: the pain of losing a small pleasure outweighs the benefit of saving a few euros. And companies know it: low monthly subscriptions are the hardest to cancel because they never hurt enough to prompt action.
Responsible spending has psychological limits. Perhaps the key isn't to eliminate, but to choose which indulgence to keep. But the evidence from the debate suggests that, in practice, the indulgence always wins.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (31 replies).
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