* If the $20 bill you find on the ground seems like a bonanza, why is saving $25 on a $1,000 refrigerator no big deal? By one study, only one in five buyers would go elsewhere to save the $25. Economists at the University of Chicago say fuzzy thinking compares the $25 to the total and fails to look at the savings. That's the same thinking that tells you it's OK to make big bets with your winnings at the casino because it's not your money. Actually, it is your money just as surely as if it came in your paycheck.

* When is a bargain a bargain? You see a $250 comforter marked down to $90 at a fancy store. Will you save $160, or is the comforter about the same as the $75 model at a different store? Scott Plous, author of The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making (Temple University Press) says it pays to do some research before buying.

* Are you really that knowledgeable? Overconfidence is the reason investors shift money in and out of stocks frequently. In an area where you project, write your predictions down for several days and see what happens tomorrow. Always make a commitment to separate facts from hunches before taking a financial plunge.

* Do you get out when you should? After buying expensive tickets to a game or show , you find your pal can't go. Do you keep them and go alone? Probably.  After investing time or money, people waste their resources because they don't want to walk away.

* When you get a windfall of inheritance or winnings, what do you do? The experts say it's best to bank it for six months so it seems like real money -- your money.