Using Cash Could Lead To Healthier Eating Habits: Study

Using debit and credit cards have become second nature to most people who don't want to run to the bank every time they're out of cash, but new research shows that cash could help your eating habits.

Over a six-month spread researchers looked at the register receipts of a random sample of 1,000 loyal shoppers at a Northeastern supermarket chain and analyzed what they bought and how they paid for it, reports MSNBC.

The study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that shoppers were more likely to buy items considered "unhealthy" when they paid with credit or debit cards than if they paid with cash, and that weekend shoppers were more likely to stick to a list.

Researchers say they were surprised to find that debit cards had the same psychological effect as credit cards, since money is deducted from bank accounts immediately, but with any kind of plastic payment seems people are willing to spend more.

But to make sure that the spending patters weren't more related to penny pinchers versus those who like to live large, the study also analyzed 125 students in a computer simulated shopping task.

They observed that tightwads were more likely to buy impulsive products when using a credit card than cash, but payment method had little influence on spendthrifts impulsive buys. Interestingly, payment method had no effect on the purchase of "virtue" products -- healthy foods such as fat-free yogurt or whole grain bread.

Scientific American notes that desires that lead to impulsive behavior is caused by "visceral factors," like the anticipation of pleasure one receives from eating something delicious and unhealthy like a doughnut. So the author's note that "vice spending is more susceptible to pain of payment" works well with other studies that have found it's harder for people to pay with cash than with plastic.

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Does Payment Method Influence The Food You Buy?

Yes, I'm more likely to buy what I want when I pay with plastic.

No, it makes no difference.

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Comments

[KatherineJosh]

02:51 AM on 07/10/2011

i've been drinking bird nest soup every night (i only get the homemade kind back at home). the only reason why i drink it is because it's supposed to be good for complexion.

i’ve been taking the store-bought kind online (e.g.
http://www.geocities.jp/hongkong_bird_nest/index_e.htm of famous branded only of course) which is directly mailed from Hong Kong. this would be at a more affordable price.

[AnaM]

01:54 AM on 07/10/2011

I'd say that credit cards at supermarkets are more an indicator of bad financial planning/budgeting than junk food consumption.I don't see the difference when I shop. I don't use credit cards, but as a general observation. I do observe terrible financial planning at the supermarket with people paying credit for groceries that are less than fifty dollars.
Also, where I live, in Australia, there is no such thing as coupon shopping, so groceries cost what they cost and people are fishing out credit cards for amounts like 20 dollars, which is ludicrous considering the interest that is paid on credit cards, along with the fees.

[Joelle May Russell]

11:22 PM on 07/09/2011

I have to stick to a tight budget and I have lupus so I really focus on eating healthy. All of my healthy foods are bought first. This leaves little money for processed or junk food. My husband and I are each allowed 1 junk food item each week. Since we buy very little processed food, we really have to cook to eat. There is no extra money to eat out. No over eating in my house.

[mrthompson]

03:40 PM on 07/09/2011

I am actually more likely to impulse buy small things with cash since the evidence does not show up on a bill.

[dsws]

07:54 PM on 07/08/2011

If I were in an experiment to see how healthy my shopping habits were, I would probably shop more carefully when the experiment was more intrusive. Realistically though? I can't believe it would make a difference.

[Grandma Koolfinger]

01:20 PM on 07/08/2011

The actual answer is self control in the spending of money.

[darquelourd]

12:19 PM on 07/08/2011

another study verifying the known

[jws2346]

12:15 PM on 07/08/2011

Yup, great ideer. Discourage people from using a debit card so that more actual money would be on the street for muggers and such. GREAT IDEER

[Reiziger]

12:24 PM on 07/08/2011

Six of one, half dozen of the other. Use cash more often and put yourself at risk for a mugging. Use your debit card more often and put yourself at risk for identity theft and having your bank account hacked.

I think I prefer the mugging.

[tomteboda]

02:50 AM on 07/09/2011

No one ever died in an identity theft gone wrong...

[ShambalaMountain]

11:23 AM on 07/08/2011

I know people are not buying food with credit cards, as opposed to debit cards, right?

[Gisela McClean]

11:23 AM on 07/08/2011

I got rid of all my creditcards, have only a debitcard and pay a lot of cash or online with pay pal. Liberating!

[TannySG]

11:09 AM on 07/08/2011

I try to always use cash, 1. to avoid dealing with any mishap with the bank over balances when things take forever to go through, and 2. to budget myself. I've found I spend less when I use cash, and am able to know what I spend - especially when it comes to going out.

[jabbaciv]

10:37 AM on 07/08/2011

I've started using cash instead of debit cards whenever possible. Really helps you establish in your mind the value of money. Pulling out $200 in cash has a lot more psychological impact than swiping a card. I've also paid off all my credit cards and cut up the cards, but left the accounts open to build good credit.

[Nelson Montana]

10:31 AM on 07/08/2011

I remember reading the same study in a magazine in 1972. It was no surprise back then either.

[DrDooit]

10:17 AM on 07/08/2011

Woops! Wrong thread

[DrDooit]

10:16 AM on 07/08/2011

I am shocked and appalled that the government would endorse such violent images to be on display for children to see. Will we see images of fat, dead people on McDonalds containers or crashed cars and ripped apart bodies on a bottle of wine in the near future?

[Reiziger]

12:14 PM on 07/08/2011

I hope so. Might get people to reconsider the ultimate costs of the junk they put into their bodies on a regular basis. I'd like to see graphic depictions of what happens to your botox and collegen-injected face 30 years down the road, might deter people from putting that junk in their bodies as well.

[cachinnatrix]

12:37 PM on 07/08/2011

Which is why you should always use cash.

;-)