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The Ski Trip You Can't Walk Away From

🎿 The Ski Trip You Can't Walk Away From

Why money you've already spent shouldn't get a vote.

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🎓 The Level-Up

The Vacation Nobody Wanted to Take

In 1985, researchers Hal Arkes and Catherine Blumer gave people a scenario: you've already bought a nonrefundable $100 ticket for a weekend ski trip. Then you also buy a $50 ticket for a different ski trip you expect to enjoy more — only to realize afterward that the two trips fall on the same weekend, and you can only go on one. Which trip do you pick?

🎿 54% of participants — more than half — said they'd go on the worse ski trip they'd already paid more for, purely because more money was riding on it, even though both amounts were already spent no matter which trip they picked.

Arkes and Blumer called this the sunk cost fallacy: letting money, time, or effort you can't get back influence a decision that should really only be about what happens from here. The paid amount is history the moment it's spent; only the trip ahead of you should count.

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🎿 Ask Only About What's Ahead

  1. When deciding whether to continue something, mentally erase what you've already spent — it's the same amount no matter what you choose next.
  2. Ask: "Knowing only what I know now, would I start this today?" If the honest answer is no, that's your answer.
  3. Watch for the phrase "I've already put so much into this" — it's usually sunk cost talking, not a reason on its own.
  4. Give yourself permission to walk away from a bad deal, even a "paid-for" one — the money's fate doesn't change either way.
👉 Try This Today

The money's already gone. What you do next is the only part still up to you. 🎿