Don’t Bet Your Bottom Dollar When Making a Purchase

iStock/Thinkstock(AUSTIN, Texas) — Everyone’s heard of “buyer’s remorse.” However, researchers from three colleges may have come up with a different way of explaining why we sometimes kick ourselves after making a purchase.

The researchers from University of Arkansas, University of Texas at Austin and University of South Carolina say it may be derived from something they call the “bottom dollar effect” — that is, our purchases are less pleasurable when we’re down to our last dollar as opposed to when there’s plenty of money in our wallets.

To demonstrate this, they conducted six studies, and in each case, people felt much better about what they bought if, say, there was a sudden windfall to pay for their purchase. Those who were stressed about having enough funds to make payments were not as happy with what they bought.

Although people often can’t control when the money comes in, the researchers say that businesses can help them out by running sales during times when they might be flush with cash, such as the first and the 15th of the month.

As for the buyer, the studies’ authors recommend that people hold off a day or two after receiving their paycheck so they won’t be worried about “making a really important purchase.”

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio