Case #004 · Anchoring · $294/yr
Why the Crossed-Out Price Is Bait
The crossed-out $90 was never a price. It is a ruler — placed there to make $49 feel like a rescue instead of a cost.
Anchoring is the brain's habit of judging a number by the first number it sees. The struck-through price is not what anyone paid last week; it is a reference point engineered to sit above the real price so the real price feels generous by comparison.
Once the anchor is set, you are no longer deciding whether $49 is worth it in absolute terms. You are deciding whether $49 beats $90 — and it always will, because the $90 exists only to be beaten.
Across a year of decisions steered by these rulers, anchoring quietly directs roughly $294 toward things chosen against a fake reference rather than against your actual needs.
Maya's rule: cover the crossed-out number and ask what the item is worth to you at the price shown. That is the only number that was ever real.
Common questions
What is price anchoring?
Anchoring is judging a price relative to the first number you see. A crossed-out 'original' price acts as a high anchor that makes the actual price feel like a bargain.
Why do stores show a higher crossed-out price?
To set a reference point. The higher number is designed to be beaten, so the real price feels like a saving rather than an expense.
How do you avoid anchoring bias when shopping?
Ignore the struck-through price and evaluate the item at the price actually charged, based on its value to you, not the discount.
Which of these traps is running your spending?
The free 2-minute Receipt Audit names your spending pattern and the one rule that fixes it. You see your result right away.
Maya is a fictional narrator. Your spending patterns are not. Educational content, not financial advice.