Think you're good at controlling spending? Beware the 'what the hell effect' with credit cards

ianna Fitzgerald works hard to pay her credit cards off each month, having become familiar with the hazards of minimum payments in her leaner-earning years. 

Back when she did run a balance, an ironic thing happened. 

"I tended to spend more and run it up," recalls Fitzgerald, 62, a clinical lab manager at Oregon Health & Science University. "To me, it always seemed like once you dirtied the thing, there wasn't much to lose." 

Holidays can be a time of excess. Yet when it comes to spending, new research shows that those who exercise great self-control can easily lose the upper hand when they carry a credit card balance. They spend more, especially if that card doesn't have a lot of available credit left. 

Boost the self-control artist's credit limit and the spending stops. Read More