Spending on the Internet

When you are young, how do you buy things that you want? In my case, I would show what I wanted to my parents, and they would decide whether they would buy it for me or not. As I grew older, my parents started giving me an allowance - they gave me cash every week and I decided how to spend it. Once I ran out of cash, I couldn't buy any more stuff and I'd have to wait until next week. But every time I bought something, I would lose cash - physically. When we are young we have a loose understanding of money, but as we grow older we develop a stronger understanding. By the time I was in highschool, I had gotten a part time job, and then money was given to me by means of direct deposit into my bank account. Now, the money started to become a bit more complex of a concept. I never actually saw the money I made, only a pay stub with the amount I made written on it, and a bank account balance that showed my income. So now, rather than being limited by the amount of cash I carried, I was limited by the number that appeared on my bank account balance. When I turned 18, I got a credit card... At this point, my bank account's balance was no longer the limiting factor in how much I could spend, but rather my monthly credit limit. But still, every purchase I made, I read a price tag and scanned the item at the cashier's till - I could still conceptualize the loss of money for every purchase I made.


But now, most of my credit card transactions occur on online stores and listings websites. No longer are there price tags, and an exchange of cash - only numbers. I see the price - just a number underneath the product. I pay for it, I just enter my credit card number. The charge appears on my monthly bill. All numbers. It honestly feels like I am not spending money, but the reality is that I am spending much more money than I would have if I were buying these products in real life. When I buy a candy at the convenience store, I give the cashier my $5 bill, and I get the candy and some change back. I can see the transaction, and everything is very clear. But when shopping online, the way money is spent is more abstract, and so you lose the sense of spending actual money.