"My spouse once paid for a learning app subscription we could have gotten free through our library. Since that mistake, we've discovered three more learning app subscriptions our library offers, two of which my nine-year-old uses daily (one for school and one for art classes), and one I use occasionally. The resources were always there. We just weren't looking. The headwind: Ownership blindness, or in this case, access blindness."
"Some of the benefits and services we have access to come in handy when we're in a pinch, but that's exactly the wrong time to be figuring them out. For example, if your flight is delayed for many hours, causing you to miss a connection, or your bag is lost, you might vaguely know you have benefits from your credit card provider for these circumstances. However, this type of stressful scenario isn't when you're in a state to read the fine print."
Knowledge alone does not guarantee good consumer choices because cognitive headwinds can block use of available benefits. Many people experience ownership or access blindness that makes membership perks and institutional resources psychologically invisible. Identifying existing subscriptions and benefits can prevent redundant spending. Familiarizing oneself with contingency benefits before emergencies preserves decision capacity under stress. Mental rehearsal of likely scenarios, saving important contact numbers, and mapping accessible services in advance reduces friction when problems arise. Practical strategies include auditing current access, consolidating overlapping services, and pre-saving notes and contacts to enable quick retrieval during high-stress moments.
Read at Psychology Today
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