Not in a "pretend I have more than I do" way or a "ignore my bank account" way.
In a strategic way that completely changed how I spend.
Because it turns out, you can reframe prices to PROTECT yourself.
So that's exactly what I started doing.
Let me cut to the chase and show you some of the mental tricks I've been using to reduce spending and save money.
Mental Trick #1: Convert Prices To Hours Of Work
This is the big one.
Every time I'm about to buy something, I ask myself: "How many hours did I have to work to afford this?"
First, figure out your after-tax hourly rate. Take your annual salary, subtract 25-30% for taxes, divide by 2,080 work hours per year.
Let's say you make $25/hour after taxes.
Now look at your purchases like this:
$200 shoes = 8 hours of work
$50 restaurant meal = 2 hours of work
$15 delivery fee = 36 minutes of work
$6 coffee = 14 minutes of work
Suddenly that "$50 dinner" isn't just $50.
It's two hours of sitting in meetings, dealing with your boss, doing whatever you do to earn money.
Is that meal worth two hours of your life?
Maybe it is. Maybe you're celebrating something and it's totally worth it.
But that random Tuesday delivery order, impulse buy at Target, and the subscription you forgot about?
When you frame it as HOURS OF YOUR LIFE, most purchases suddenly don't feel worth it.
This trick works because it makes the cost REAL.
You feel it, because it's not just a number anymore.
It's a chunk of your time.
And time is the one thing you can never get back.
Mental Trick #2: Ask "How Many Of These Could I Buy?"
(but could only afford one...)
Here's another reframe:
Instead of asking "Can I afford this?" ask "How many of these could I buy with my current savings?"
Let's say you have $2,000 saved and you're looking at a $200 jacket.
You could buy 10 of those jackets with your savings.
Now ask yourself: Would I rather have this one jacket, or keep 10 jackets worth of security in my savings account?
Framed that way, most "I can afford it" purchases suddenly don't feel worth it.
Because affordability isn't about whether the money exists.
It's about whether spending that money is worth more than keeping it.
Mental Trick #3: Compare It To A Bill
This one hits different.
You're about to spend $80 on something.
Ask yourself: "What bill does this cover?"
$80 is my electric bill.
$80 is half my car insurance.
$80 is groceries for a week.
That $80 impulse buy feels a lot heavier when you realize it's an entire utility bill you're casually tossing at something you'll probably forget about in a week or two.
I do this with smaller purchases too:
$30 random Amazon order = my pet insurance
$45 unnecessary shopping trip = my internet for the month
It makes you ask: do I want this thing, or do I want the peace of mind knowing my bills are covered?
Mental Trick #4: Calculate The "Regret Tax"
This is for bigger purchases.
Before you buy something expensive, imagine yourself three months from now looking at that purchase.
Will you be glad you bought it?
Or will you be annoyed every time you see it sitting unused?
If there's even a 30% chance you'll regret it, that's your "regret tax."
A $300 purchase with a 30% regret chance means you're potentially wasting $90.
That's $90 you'll never get back, attached to guilt and annoyance every time you see the thing.
Is it worth the risk?
Usually not.
I started doing this with EVERYTHING over $100, and my spending dropped immediately.
Because once you realize how often you regret purchases, you start being way more careful about what you buy.
Mental Trick #5: The "Per Use" Test
Here's one I use for anything I'm buying that's supposed to "save money" or "be an investment."
How much will this actually cost me PER USE?
$200 gym membership for a year?
If you go twice a week, that's $1.92 per visit.
Not bad.
But if you only go 10 times total? That's $20 per visit.
Terrible deal.
$150 kitchen gadget?
If you use it twice and then it sits in the cabinet, that's $75 per use.
$80 video game?
If you play it for 40 hours, that's $2/hour of entertainment.
Pretty good tbh.
This reframe helps you see through the "but I'll TOTALLY use it" lie you tell yourself when buying stuff.
Because you probably won't.
And if you won't, it's not worth it.
Mental Trick #6: Add Up The Stupid Tax
This one stings, but it works.
At the end of every month, add up everything you spent on stuff you didn't plan for and didn't really need.
Impulse purchases.
Random Target runs.
That thing you bought because you were bored.
Call it your "Stupid Tax."
My first month doing this, my Stupid Tax was $380.
THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DOLLARS.
On stuff I didn't need, didn't really want, and barely remember buying.
When you see that number staring back at you, it's a wake-up call.
Because $380 is:
15 hours of work
A car payment
A decent chunk toward an emergency fund
Almost enough to cover a surprise expense
And I blew it on... what?
Random crap?
Once you start tracking your Stupid Tax, you become hyper-aware of it. And awareness is what stops the spending.
Why This Works
Here's the thing about traditional budgeting: it's all rules and restrictions.
"You can spend $200 on groceries."
"You can spend $50 on entertainment."
And your brain HATES being told what to do.
So you rebel.
You blow the budget, then give up because you feel guilty.
But reframing prices?
That's not a rule.
hat's just information.
Nobody's telling you that you CAN'T buy the $200 shoes.
You're just reminding yourself that $200 = 8 hours of work.
And then YOU decide if it's worth it.
Most of the time, once you see it that way, you decide it's not.
That's way more powerful than a budget telling you "no."
Because you're not being restricted.
You're being informed.
And then you're choosing differently.
How To Start Doing This
Pick ONE of these mental tricks and start using it this week.
My recommendation?
Start with the "hours of work" reframe.
Calculate your after-tax hourly rate.
Then, every time you're about to buy something, do the math.
$X purchase ÷ $Y hourly rate = Z hours of work
Ask yourself: Is this worth Z hours of my life?
If yes, buy it guilt-free.
If no, walk away.
That's it.
No complicated systems, just a simple question.
And I promise you, once you start seeing prices as hours of your life, your spending will change.
You'll stop buying stupid stuff.
You'll think twice before swiping.
You'll start valuing your money because you're valuing your TIME.
And that's the shift that actually sticks.
You got this, Pookie.
Taquitos,
Caleb "Mental Money" Hammer
P.S. Let's do this with my Master Your Money membership.
