Latest / Behavioral Economics with Fexingo: Decision Making, Bias, and How People Really Spend
Why Your Brain Treats a Subscription as a Sunk Cost Trap
Episode 96 of Behavioral Economics with Fexingo dives into the sunk cost fallacy as it applies to subscriptions. Lucas and Luna explore why we keep paying for gym memberships, streaming services, and software we barely use, anchored by a 2025 study from the University of Chicago showing that consumers waste an average of $237 per year on unused subscriptions. They discuss the psychology of monthly versus annual billing, the 'use-it-or-lose-it' framing, and practical strategies to break the cycle, including a 2026 app called SubSaver that automatically cancels dormant subscriptions…
The skinny
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