Fiscal responsibility and the consideration of future consequences

Three studies examined the relationship between individual differences in the consideration of future consequences (CFC; Strathman, Gleicher, Boninger, & Edwards, 1994) and fiscal responsibility. In Studies 1 and 2, low levels of CFC were associated with high levels of self-reported impulsive buying tendencies (Verplanken & Herabadi, 2001) and temporal discounting (Kirby, Petry, & Bickel, 1999). In Study 3, participants allocated a monetary windfall among four options (credit card debt, savings, purchase, trip) under low and high debt levels. Results revealed that those faced with high levels of debt and low in CFC directed money away from options maximizing long-term interests toward more short-term purchase alternatives; debt level did not have a significant effect on the way people high in CFC allocated their windfall.