This chapter reviews recent advances in the literature on mental accounting - the process by which people group expenses into categories, assign funds to these categories, determine budgets, and perform elements of cost-benefit analyses. We focus in particular on mental accounting within the...

Although budgeting is widely considered a common method of managing household finances, surprisingly little is known about the budgeting process. Using a nationally-representative survey (N=3,826) of US adults, we examine budgeting behaviors and beliefs, including who budgets and why, how...