Have you ever gone out to eat planning to stick to your budget and the next thing you know you’re staring at a $75 check? How about shopping? It’s so easy to go into a store with a plan in mind and an hour later you’ve signed up for five store cards and have depleted your bank account. So, why does this happen?
The simple answer is psychological tricks and smart marketing. You may not know this, but restaurants know how to make you spend money. From setting the atmosphere with the proper mood music to product placement that is sure to catch your eye, that budget of yours pretty much goes out the window the moment you sit down to eat.
The same can be said for retail marketing. Despite trying to stick to a budget, most people tend to overspend when they go shopping. This is due to the fact that coupons are a great motivator to spend more and the types of media constantly reinforcing the sales hit you across a variety of vectors.
So what are these Jedi mind tricks that get you to spend more money? Well, we’ve discovered 15 that are sure to blow you away. However, we ask you don’t spill the beans the next time you go out to eat. We don’t want any angry restaurants calling us because they couldn’t trick you into going for the filet mignon.