Does mental accounting matter for total consumption expenditures? We exploit a unique setting in which individuals exogenously receive a new payment card, without requesting one. Using random variation in the time of receipt, we show that individuals temporarily increase total consumption expenditure by making purchases with the new card without reducing spending on the others. We do not observe a corresponding increase in indebtedness. Total consumption expenditure rises even for the least liquidity-constrained individuals. The evidence is consistent with consumers treating methods of payment as nonfungible budget categories, as suggested by models of mental accounting and narrow bracketing.

中文翻译：

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管理心理账户：支付卡和消费支出

心理账户对总消费支出重要吗？我们利用了一种独特的环境，在这种环境中，个人无需请求即可从外部获得一张新的支付卡。利用收到时间的随机变化，我们发现个人通过使用新卡购物暂时增加了总消费支出，而没有减少其他人的支出。我们没有观察到债务相应增加。即使对于流动性最受限的个人来说，总消费支出也会增加。证据与消费者将支付方式视为不可替代的预算类别是一致的，正如心理账户和狭义分类模型所表明的那样。