HOW DECISION FATIGUE CAN IMPACT YOUR FINANCES

DECISION FATIGUE

Decision fatigue is that feeling we get when we just cannot make another decision. It’s when you are worn out from having to make too many choices in a given period of time. Making decisions is a part of life each day.  But, when you have too many decisions to make it can feel overwhelming. Decision fatigue can sometimes make you feel like you cannot even bear to have to make another decision about anything. This is because we have a limited about of mental energy available to make decisions.

Just like our body gets tired out, our brains also get tired out. This happens when we have used up that energy without enough time to recharge. When we are faced with too many decisions, we can get to the point that we just can’t make another one. Or we might make poor decisions because we are just too tired out to think clearly. Decision fatigue can impact many areas of your life. Today I am going to go over some ways it can impact your finances and what you can do to limit that impact.

EXAMPLE – BUYING A CAR

Have you ever been faced with too many choices, so you ended up making a choice you wouldn’t typically make? One great example of this is the process of buying a car. When you get to the car dealership, you probably are ready to make this purchase. You have some things already decided about what you will and won’t go for in picking out a car. How do you feel by the end of that long process?  I know after the long car buying process I feel mentally exhausted. That is when they start to try to sell you on extended warranties to add to your purchase.

While this may be something that you actually were interested in, if you were not interested in it, it becomes harder to resist. After being in the dealership for hours, you might want to sign anything at that point just to get out of there. This might put you in a situation where you agree to make a purchase that you wouldn’t have made when you first arrived at the dealership.  These decisions can have a long-term impact on your finances.

EXAMPLE – ORDERING TAKE OUT OR GOING TO A RESTAURANT

I’m sure that most of us have been in a situation where we spent money on ordering take-out or going to a restaurant to eat because we didn’t have the mental energy to decide what to cook for dinner. Sometimes you have one of those days that you are just too busy to cook. But, that is not what I am talking about.  These are those days where you might have time and ingredients available, but you are just too drained to even think about what you might be able to cook. So, you pull out the takeout menu and just tell everyone to get whatever they want. You might even end up ordering more expensive food because you don’t want to think about who might be having a pizza special or some other promotion that night.

This might not have much of an impact if rarely happens. It could definitely have an impact on your finances if it happens more frequently. And especially if it is not included in your budget.  Or if you were trying to save that money to meet another goal.

TRY TO LIMIT THE DECISIONS YOU HAVE TO MAKE EACH DAY

Really think about what decisions you have to make on a daily basis. See if there is a way to make those decisions easier for yourself. Many of these decisions you have to make are not related to finances, but they all use up mental energy.  And that is what you need to conserve so that you are prepared when you do need to make decisions that impact your finances.

MEAL PLANNING

Maybe find a new meal planning method that makes it more simple to plan meals. This lessens decision-making in the morning because you can just look at your plan to see what to defrost for that evening. When you already know what you will make for dinner that night, it’s one less thing you have to think about after a long day

HOUSEHOLD CHORES / CLEANING SCHEDULE

Consider creating a schedule identifying which household chores will be done each day of the week. This is one area that I have struggled with over the years.  The methods that have been most helpful to me are the ones that indicated when and what to clean on a given day. If you think about it, there are only so many things generally that need to be cleaned in your home. If you can decide on when you will do those tasks once, it’s one less thing you will have to think about on a regular basis.

MORE MINIMAL WARDROBE

Try out a minimal wardrobe to limit the clothes you have to choose from to only those that you really love. I have really scaled back my clothing and try to have only clothes that I really love.  By limiting what I have, it makes it easier to just grab anything in the morning and put it on. I don’t really spend time any more sorting through my clothes trying to decide what to wear.

AUTOMATIC SAVINGS

By setting up automatic deposits to your savings and/or investment accounts it eliminates that need to decide when or where you want to put that money. In a previous episode, I actually came up with an allocation of where any extra money that was found would go.  I used to stress each time we had any extra funds of what should be done with them.  Now I just look at my allocation and put the money in those places.

BLOCK SCHEDULING

Block scheduling is a method of managing your time. With block scheduling, you break down your day into time slots. You then decide what you will work on during each of these time slots. It helps keep you focused on what is most important for the day, and eliminates the need to constantly review your to-do list to decide what you will work on next. Your block schedule might include a time slot for reviewing your budget that might get pushed aside if your time was not planned out for the day.

MAKE IMPORTANT DECISIONS EARLIER IN THE DAY

When you are planning out your day, try to keep the more mentally draining tasks earlier in the day. It’s best to do those when you have not yet had to make a lot of decisions. Try to keep the lighter tasks that don’t require as much thought later on when you will likely be getting tired out.

RECOGNIZING DECISION FATIGUE

It’s important to recognize when you are feeling too wiped out to make any more decisions. Rather than trying to just keep pushing yourself, realize that you need a break.  Save any further big decisions for the next morning. Or allow yourself to get a decent rest period first. Decision fatigue impacts your willpower. This can impact our finances by allowing us to make poor choices that go against what we really want. By being more mindful and taking some time to plan. You can limit the number of decisions you have to make, you will be able to make better financial choices.

Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic to check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!

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