In the very decent little book Money is My Friend by Phil Laut, there is a great tip for people who are always saying “I don’t have any money”. He suggests carrying one of these with you at all times:

It's all about me baby!

You may spend it whenever you like so long as you replace it from your bank immediately! If you follow the rule, you’ll never be broke again- the closest you’ll ever get is being down to your last $100. He also writes about the psychological toll of ‘being broke”- people feel depressed, but how can you be depressed with a crisp Benjy in your pocket?

A recent study by the Journal of Consumer Research backs up Laut’s tip with hard science. They called it the “denomination effect”, meaning that people tend to overvalue bigger bills, and view breaking a hundo as much more sacrosanct than chipping away at five twenties. Consumers (that’s us) also fear that once a big bill is broken that they won’t be able to stop from spending the rest. Researchers dubbed that the “what the hell” effect- as in “what the hell- I already broke the $100, might as well blow the rest.”

The study was done in America using 89 subjects and dollars and quarters. Researchers ran the test in China as well with Chinese yuan and gleaned similar results. People are less likely to spend larger valued currency.

If a C-Note is too much, start with a $50 or even a $20, then work your way up to Ben. Chances are you can repair a possibly damaged relationship you may have developed with cash by cementing it’s true value in your conscious thereby tricking your unconscious, which often makes the most irrational spending decisions, frivolous impulse purchases, and plain old dumb buys. It’s almost like bribing your own worst enemy: You!