Bottom-Dollar Effect

The Bottom-Dollar effect is the mind's way of saving time. Sometimes the saved time costs more than it buys.

Under the hood it is a trade: the mind exchanges accuracy for speed, or comfort, or belonging. The trade is often worth it. The danger is not the trade but forgetting that a trade was made.

What this concept offers is a pause — one extra beat between what happens and what you do about it. Civilisation, someone said, is measured in that beat.

The housewife with her kitchen budget runs a tighter ship than most finance departments. She knows the difference between price and cost — one is on the tag, the other is on the month.

Money is a good clerk and a terrible master; the arrangement is entirely up to us. Print it on a card if you like. Better: print it on a habit.