23 Money Tips for Any Occasion - mental_floss List Show (Ep. 229)

Hi, I'm John Green. Welcome to my salon. This is Mental Floss on YouTube, and did you know

that wearing high heels to the mall will trick your brain into making better purchases

According to a study from BYU, shoppers in stilettos paid fairer prices and didn't overspend

while balancing in heels. And that's just the kind of eccentric money tip that we need here at Mental Floss Video

because we've been saving for our pork chop party forever and we're not making much progress

So today we're going to share with you a lot of strange financial tips in this video brought to you by our friends at Wells Fargo

Alright, so we know not everyone wants to parade the aisles of Best Buy in high heels

but if you want to make smart shopping decisions, there are other options as well

Researchers also found that leaning back in a chair, riding an escalator, and doing yoga

poses while shopping all have the same effect. That's why I always do yoga poses while I'm in the grocery store

But lest you think the relaxation of yoga and leaning back in a chair always leads to

good buying decisions. According to a psychology study out of Columbia Business School, when

subjects were placed in calming environments with classical music and comfy chairs, places

that made them feel extremely relaxed, they overspent on items by 15 percent

That reminds me of the one time I purchased a fancy suit for the movie premiere of The Fault in Our Stars, and the person at the store said, would you like a glass of wine

And I was like, would I? I tell you what friends that leads to some overspending Then there a study presented at the Society for Neuroscience that advised people to avoid bartering with beefcake salesmen or anyone who seems to have too much testosterone

When mild-mannered subjects coated themselves in a testosterone gel, they were less likely

to make fair deals. Wait, they coated people in testosterone? Wow, the wanks that university business departments will go to to justify their existence

Now, here's a tip for you cat owners. Do not spend one more dollar on kitty litter

Toilet train your cat. Saves you $1,500 over your cat's lifetime. Now I know that you're probably wondering, but John, how do I toilet train a cat

Well it's easy. Look up the Charles Mingus catalog for toilet training your cat

It's the method that jazz musician Charles Mingus used to potty train his cat nightlife

and it's the only one that works. Super easy tip for smarter grocery shopping

Look at the top of the shelf and the very bottom, because typically stores stock the

most expensive items at eye level. Wait, surely people aren't so lazy that they won't even move their eyes

Yes, they are. Another tip for spending less? Keep fresh, crisp bills in your wallet

Several studies have consistently shown that people are more inclined to spend wrinkled

old bills than new-looking ones. Also, when you're in a position to do so, ask the bank to give you 50s and 100s, because

shoppers are more willing to spend fives, tens, and twenties. If you're planning to live past 100, you should move to New Mexico, where centenarians

are exempt from state income tax. If you got a hankering for pumpkins you should buy them in Pennsylvania New Jersey or Iowa because they are exempt from sales tax if you promise to eat them Wait is it tax if on October 28th I in New Jersey and someone asks me if I planning to eat that pumpkin and I like yeah

Can I go to prison? Mark, I can't go to prison in New Jersey. I've said so many terrible things about that place

I love you, New Jersey. Anyway, Hawaii gives a $300 tax deduction to people who raise quote, exceptional trees

What, like Groot? Are there Groots in Hawaii? And lastly, if you want to save money on candy in Illinois, buy Whoppers

The state taxes candy at 6.25%, unless it contains flour, in which case it is classified as food and taxed less

Speaking of sweets, researchers have established that you can curb your chocolate binges

The next time you have a candy craving, force yourself to play with modeling clay for 10 minutes

Messing with the clay reduced both thoughts about the chocolate and the, quote, strength of the craving imagery

And if you don't like buying printer cartridges, an easy way to spend less on those is to switch your font

Try EcoFont or Century Gothic. Century Gothic, by the way, I think has the advantage of making your papers a little bit longer

Lifehack, four and a half pages in Times New Roman, five pages in Century Gothic

Assignment completed. And as long as we're talking about office supplies, do not buy a paper shredder

There's a better strategy. Stuff your documents into a pair of pantyhose and throw them in the washing machine

It sounds crazy, but a quick rinse will blur and wash out the ink. Now, this isn't very exciting, but a simple way to improve your gas mileage and therefore

save money is not to speed According to the U Department of Energy website avoiding aggressive driving quote can lower your gas mileage by 33 at highway speeds and by 5 around town

Also, you will be less annoying. So now I've saved you a lot of money. You're driving slowly, you're stuffing your documents into pantyhose

What should you do with all this money? Well, you could rent out the country of Liechtenstein for a night

In the past, Airbnb has teamed up with Rent-a-Village to rent out the entire nation of Liechtenstein

for $70,000 a night. That includes the ability to change the town signs, commission a parade, and house 150

of your closest friends. I'm not sure the rest of this video has quite saved you $70,000, so I'd advise you to save

a little by renting out a less opulent village, like The Guardian recommends renting out a

village from Austria or Switzerland instead, where you only have to spend like $40,000

or $60,000 for the same amenities. You're definitely going to save $40,000 from your Hawaiian Groot farm

And finally, I return to my salon to tell you, put money in your 401k

Tap water is safe and delicious, you don't need a new phone every year, and this is a

$5 bottle of wine. It tastes reasonably good