Behavioral Economics with Fexingo: Decision Making, Bias, and How People Really Spend cover art

Behavioral Economics with Fexingo: Decision Making, Bias, and How People Really Spend

Behavioral Economics with Fexingo: Decision Making, Bias, and How People Really Spend

By: Fexingo
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What really drives the way people spend, save, and invest? Behavioral economics challenges the textbook assumption of the rational actor by revealing the systematic biases and mental shortcuts that shape every financial decision. In this show, Lucas and Luna sit down at the research library to dissect the experimental evidence, from Kahneman and Tversky's prospect theory to Thaler's nudge framework, and test those findings against real-world pricing, marketing, and policy design. They walk through specific studies — the endowment effect in housing markets, the sunk-cost fallacy in subscription pricing, the framing of credit-card interest rates — and ask what those experiments imply for a consumer choosing a mortgage or a CFO setting a price. Lucas brings the investigative journalist's rigor, pressing for the exact sample sizes, replication rates, and alternative interpretations; Luna pushes back with the practitioner's instinct, asking whether a bias that shows up in a lab actually translates to a shopping cart on Amazon. The listener is not a beginner: you already know that people aren't perfectly rational. What you want is the nuance — the boundary conditions where biases flip, the studies that fail to replicate, and the ethical line between a nudge and a manipulation. Each episode leaves one open question hanging: if we know these biases exist, should the government regulate against them, or is that a cure worse than the disease? #BehavioralEconomics #ProspectTheory #Nudge #Kahneman #Thaler #EndowmentEffect #SunkCost #Framing #Bias #DecisionMaking #ConsumerBehavior #BehavioralFinance #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #ResearchLibrary #PolicyDesign #CognitiveScience Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo© 2026 Fexingo. All rights reserved. Economics
Episodes
  • How Your Brain Overpays for Certainty

    How Your Brain Overpays for Certainty
    Jun 29 2026
    Why are we willing to overpay for a product or service that guarantees a specific outcome—even when the cheaper alternative works just as well? This episode unpacks the certainty premium, the behavioral economics concept that explains why your brain assigns extra value to options that eliminate uncertainty. We look at the well-known 2013 study where consumers paid up to 40 percent more for a digital camera that came with a 'no-questions-asked' return policy, even though the store's existing return policy was already generous. Lucas and Luna explore why hotel booking sites charge more for 'free cancellation' rooms, and why your brain treats a fixed-rate mortgage differently from an adjustable one. The episode also ties in the broader implication: from insurance to subscription services, companies exploit your hunger for certainty—and understanding that can save you real money. Today's date is June 29, 2026. #CertaintyPremium #BehavioralEconomics #DecisionMaking #Bias #LossAversion #RiskAversion #Overpaying #ReturnPolicy #FreeCancellation #FixedRate #Mortgage #Insurance #Subscription #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #LucasAndLuna #ConsumerBehavior Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 mins
  • How Precommitment Contracts Beat Your Impulse Spending

    How Precommitment Contracts Beat Your Impulse Spending
    Jun 28 2026
    Episode 80 of Behavioral Economics with Fexingo explores precommitment contracts—binding yourself in advance to override future impulses. Lucas and Luna break down how the tool works using the classic example of Christmas savings clubs and modern apps like StickK, where people stake money on achieving a goal or losing it. They discuss why self-control is harder when rewards are immediate and costs are delayed, and how precommitment flips that equation. They also touch on the limits of willpower-backed plans versus financial commitment. A concrete, research-grounded episode on one of behavioral economics' most practical ideas. #Precommitment #SelfControl #BehavioralEconomics #ImpulseSpending #StickK #ChristmasClub #Willpower #Savings #CommitmentDevice #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #DecisionMaking #Bias #SpendingHabits #LucasAndLuna #BehavioralScience #PersonalFinance Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 mins
  • How Your Brain Treats Cashback as a Reward

    How Your Brain Treats Cashback as a Reward
    Jun 28 2026
    Episode 79 of Behavioral Economics with Fexingo drills into why your brain processes cashback differently than a straight discount. Lucas and Luna explore the 'mental accounting' effect that makes you treat a $10 rebate as found money, while the same $10 off at checkout barely registers. They examine a 2024 study from the University of Chicago showing that cashback shoppers spend 18% more per trip than discount shoppers, and discuss how retailers like Target and Amazon have weaponized this cognitive quirk. The episode also touches on the 'decoupling' of reward from purchase, the illusion of earning, and why cashback feels like a win even when you paid full price. By the end, you'll see why your wallet feels heavier after a cashback app notification—and why that's exactly what the store intended. #Cashback #MentalAccounting #BehavioralEconomics #RewardSystem #ConsumerPsychology #RetailStrategy #DiscountVsRebate #SpendingHabits #LossAversion #TransactionUtility #Target #Amazon #UniversityOfChicago #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #DecisionMaking #Bias Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 mins
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