I'd like to get HN community thoughts / rationalization for the following behavior which I think is a cognitive bias.<p>1- I've found a unique way to get 'free' money - (I'll explain below, but it's really for tiny sums/not scalable)<p>2- With the money that I think I could get, I am completely willing to waste it - ie spend it in extravagant things, that I wouldn't otherwise do<p>Now I am sure this is a complete cognitive bias. The fact that I've 'earned' that money has nothing to do with how I decide to spend money in general.<p>For example, I am sure that if I got an increase in my traditional (ie not 'free') income in the same amount, I WOULDNT plan on spend it on the extravagant things.<p>It's almost like giving myself permission to do stupid things with that money because it is 'extra' or 'it doesn't count'<p>Any thoughts on how to rationalize this behavior? Any psychological theories?<p>PS: The 'free' money trick has to do with a trick to buy dollars in Argentina with Pesos using the 'official' exchange rate (which is highly controlled right now).
Why are you asking the question?<p>You state that this is a very small amount of money you're getting from exchange rate arbitrage, but you say you're buying extravagant things. Where are you finding cheap extravagance? This part reads like a sales pitch, like you're begging us to ask more details about your arbitrage arrangement.<p>Do you normally question your actions and feel the need to compare yourself to others?<p>How much do you enjoy psychology? Begging for psychological dissembly and analysis could be a form of narcissistic masochism.