Part 3 of 5: From Emotionality to Intentionality: Calm in a Costly World
Inspired by Justin Wolfers' Platypus Economics article, A User's Guide to Living With Inflation.
Inflation usually feels like a gradual increase, a slow drip. We usually don’t notice it. Since the pandemic, however, inflation has felt more like a flash flood. Not only have some prices risen very noticeably, we are reminded daily in headlines, social media, and conversations that everything feels much more expensive.
From the mid-1980s leading up to the pandemic, inflation in the U.S. generally rose gradually, around 2–3% per year. Small annual increases spread over time meant that people often didn’t notice prices creeping up from one month to the next. Wages and expectations also tend to adjust alongside inflation, making the changes feel less dramatic in everyday life.
We tend to rarely notice the changes that happen slowly. And human beings are remarkably good at adapting to gradual changes.
Our brain is great at detecting sudden differences, rather than continuously monitoring absolute states. Awareness of sudden change has an evolutionary advantage. We notice a predator appearing from the woods or a flash flood roaring toward our home. These dramatic changes in our environment demand our immediate attention, whereas the gradual growth of a tree toward our home does not.
When a stimulus changes gradually or remains constant, the brain reduces the amount of attention it gives that stimulus. This is called habituation.
Some examples of habituation include:
-You stop noticing the background humming of the air conditioner.
-You no longer notice the smell of your house once you’ve been inside for a little while.
-You forget you’re wearing glasses.
-You no longer feel your watch or wedding ring after wearing it for a while.
There’s also Weber’s Law, which states that whether we notice a change depends on its relative size, not its absolute size. If you add 1 pound to a 5-pound weight, that is going to be noticeable. But if you add 1 pound to a 100-pound weight, that is going to be much harder to detect.
The same applies to increasing prices. If your favorite lavender honey protein latte rises from $5.00 to $5.05, you probably won’t notice either the five cent increase in price or the five cent decrease in your change. But if the price goes from $5.00 to $6.99, the rise in price and decline in change both exceed our perceptual threshold and are noticeable.
Borrowing from modern folklore, the enduring story of the boiling frog captures one of the most important truths about human behavior: we rarely notice the changes that happen slowly.
The metaphor of the boiling frog (even though it is biologically inaccurate) goes like this:
If you place a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will immediately jump out. But if you place the frog in room temperature water and slowly raise the temperature of the water, it won’t notice that its life is in danger until it’s too late.
The lesson here is that gradual change is harder to detect than sudden change. People adapt to small shifts that would immediately spark action, if experienced all at once.
Today, this metaphor is used to describe everything from:
Unhealthy relationships (perhaps the most common) -small acts of manipulation or disrespect continually happen over time. A partner becomes more controlling each month, insults become normalized, boundary after boundary keeps being crossed. When these changes in a relationship happen incrementally, each new behavior becomes the “new normal.”
Addiction -alcohol use while attending social events or even social media use, starts harmlessly enough, but then gradually the frequency increases, tolerance develops, and then dependency forms.
Loss of privacy -technology companies may not request all your personal information all at once, instead they request location access, then contacts, and then maybe browsing history. While each permission may seem minor, over time with more permission granted more of your personal information is being collected.
Debt -most people don’t just wake up one day buried in debt. It often develops through a series of financed purchases, and then maybe a balance that carried over, an emergency car expense, a vacation that got charged to a card. No one financial situation is catastrophic, but as they pile on each other, they become overwhelming.
And for the purposes of this article the boiling frog metaphor helps illustrate how the speed of change influences our awareness and reactions.
In part 1 of Emotionality to Intentionality: Calm in a Costly World, I explored Professor Wolfers’ idea that before you react or make a decision based on a dollar amount, you should understand how time and inflation affect the dollar amount. I explained why it is common for people to impulsively react before translating income and expenses into real terms.
In part 2, I explored how to better connect to and consider our future-self. Our future-self that lives in a different economic world than our present-self.
Now, for part 3, I want to discuss more deeply what could be getting in the way of adjusting our spending, even now when we are hyper-aware that inflation is putting more pressure on our household budgets.
Here is Professor Wolfers’ idea #3 from A User’s Guide to Living With Inflation, followed by my insight from a financial therapist lens:
✨ Idea #3: Shop around more, and substitute more aggressively
“Inflation usually arrives through staggered price changes. One store updates prices this week. Another does it next month. One brand jumps. A substitute doesn’t. One insurer raises your premium and hopes inertia does the rest. That means the payoff to shopping around rises.”
His article suggests you should shop around more and substitute goods or services where you are able. Making sure to get a second quote or even a third. Become a “super shopper.”
All reasonable actions to suggest. But why is it that sometimes we just don’t do the reasonable, logical thing that we know we should? It could be decision fatigue, too many options, fear of making the wrong choice, or our natural tendency to hold on tightly to what’s familiar.
Being able to identify and understand the emotion behind your hesitations helps you to figure out what strategies are going to work best for you. ASK YOURSELF:
What about this feels overwhelming?
Am I trying to solve too much at once?
Am I worried about making the wrong decision?
What evidence do I have that not changing anything is actually the better option?
When was the last time I reviewed this expense?
Am I choosing this because it’s the best option or because it’s the familiar one?
If I were making this decision for the first time today, would I choose the same company or product?
What story am I telling myself about people who “shop around”?
Do I associate comparison shopping with being cheap, or with being financially intentional?
It can also be helpful to take one small step at a time. With all the many ways to practice being a “super shopper" such as:
getting multiple quotes before renewing policies or services
negotiating bills
using coupons, promo codes, and shopping sales
planning purchases around discounts
meal planning around what’s on sale
buying in bulk
using loyalty rewards
shopping secondhand
regularly reviewing recurring expenses
canceling unused subscriptions
…can all feel exhausting and overwhelming.
To avoid activating perfectionism or avoidance, try aiming more for progress instead of perfection.
Create small moments of awareness and practice small steps towards change by making one intentional adjustment at a time instead of trying to do everything all at once.
✨Here are 15 ideas to get you started:
Obtain one additional insurance quote before your next renewal.
Call your internet provider and ask, “Are there any current promotions I qualify for or lower-cost plans?”
Cancel one subscription you no longer use.
Compare the price of one item at another store.
Use one coupon or promo code before your next online purchase.
Review one recurring charge on your bank statement.
Spend 20 minutes comparing phone plans.
Add one grocery store app to access digital coupons.
Compare prices before making your next large purchase.
Ask one company a day if they offer a discount.
Remove only one unnecessary add-on from a bill.
Try not spending money one day each week.
Swap one name-brand item for a generic alternative.
Check at least one competitor’s price before renewing a service.
Review one category of spending each week (insurance, subscriptions, groceries, etc.).
Often when we feel overwhelmed by rising prices all around us, our brains do the opposite of what would help us most. We default to familiar routines. We forget to question old habits. We assume that every price increase is unavoidable. We surrender to the self-talk of, “Everything is expensive anyway, there’s nothing I can really do about that.”
Instead, try tapping into your inner “super shopper.” Be intentional with where and how you shop, it could make a meaningful difference. Yes, prices have risen, but there’s still room for flexibility.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading!!!
I hope today you’re met with kindness, especially from yourself.
💚💚💚
References
APA Dictionary of Psychology. (n.d.). https://dictionary.apa.org/habituation
Briteweb. (2026, April 30). What is inflation and why does it matter? Peterson Foundation. https://www.pgpf.org/article/what-is-inflation-and-why-does-it-matter/
Penconek, M. (2025). Weber’s Law as the emergent phenomenon of choices based on global inhibition. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 19, 1532069. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2025.1532069
Wolfers, J. (2026, July 1). A user’s guide to living with inflation. Platypus Economics. https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/a-users-guide-to-living-with-inflation
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