Don't Waste Money on These Things, According to Science

Saving money and living a frugal lifestyle are often perceived as a sacrifice of life quality. As a penny pincher myself, I believe frugal living simply means being smart with your money and living a simple and fulfilling life. Why spend money when you don’t have to?

Interestingly, I found there is some scientific evidence showing that in many cases, spending more does not do you any good, financially or otherwise.

In an interview with Business Insider, psychologist Daniel Kahneman noted that shorter vacations are typically just as good in hindsight as longer ones. “When you go on vacation for two weeks instead of one, you most likely aren’t ‘changing the story’ enough to create new memories about the experience. Instead, it all eventually blends into one amorphous memory. You might be left with one or two standout moments.”

Psychologically, people’s experiences and memory are related in two ways — “experiencing self” (living in the moment) and “remembering self” (looking back on the life through the rearview). Longer vacation may be better for experiencing self, but if you belong to the “remembering self” category, a shorter vacation would be just as good.

How this information helps us reduce money waste

Longer vacation usually means spending more for hotels, transportation, restaurants, and entertainment. Consider cutting your long vacation short, or spend half of the vacation time as staycation or doing something less expensive.

According to an article written by Dr. Christopher Winter, Medical Director at Charlottesville Neurology & Sleep Medicine, our bed rooms should be 60–67 degrees Fahrenheit for the best sleep. Our body temperatures naturally rise and fall during a 24-hour period. When we sleep, our body temperature drops, so a colder room is helpful for getting our body to that lower temperature.

How this information helps us reduce money waste

As winter is approaching, many people set their room temperature at 70-degree or higher. Keeping such a high temperature is not only a waste of energy, but a negative factor for a good-night sleep. An easy solution is to install a programmable thermostat and program it to lower temperatures at night.

Besides, Americans spent billions of dollars on insomnia-related care and products, from prescription drugs to luxury mattresses that are claimed to boost good sleep. Why not try this easy, natural and scientific-based method to improve your sleep and health?

A Stanford study reviewed 237 studies that compared the levels of nutrition of organic and non-organic foods. According to Dr. Dena Bravata, the lead researcher of this study, “There isn’t much difference between organic and conventional foods, if you’re an adult and making a decision based solely on your health.” There is no straightforward evidence that organic foods are more nutritious than conventional alternatives, though organic foods have a lower risk of pesticide exposure.

How this information helps us reduce money waste

Organic foods are usually significantly more expensive than conventionally produced foods. But studies could not demonstrate they are healthier choices. Therefore, we can be more selective in buying organic foods. Some fruits and vegetables with the highest level of pesticide residues, so these foods may be worth buying organic. Otherwise, we should not spend extra money on organic foods.

In the December issue of 2013 Annals of Internal Medicine, three research articles examined the role of vitamin and mineral supplements for preventing the occurrence or progression of chronic diseases. Their findings along with previous studies “indicate no substantial health benefit. This evidence, combined with biological considerations, suggests that any effect, either beneficial or harmful, is probably small.”

How this information helps us reduce money waste

The message is simple — stop wasting money on supplements if you have no sign of nutritional deficiency. The best source to get vitamins, minerals and nutrients is foods rather than supplements. If you are lacking a certain nutrient, consult doctors whether you need to take supplements to make up for what you are missing.

Think twice before you open your wallet. You can save more money by cutting spending on those things. Thanks for reading.

© 2019, Lorna Ye. All Rights Reserved

Originally published here: Don’t Waste Money on These Things, According to Science on August 20, 2019.