The Sunk Cost Fallacy and How it Influences Our Decisions
This article appears as part of Casey Weade's Weekend Reading for Retirees series. Every Friday, Casey highlights four hand-picked articles on trending retirement topics and delivers them straight to your email inbox. Get on the list here.
Weekend Reading
It can be all too easy to stay the course—whether it’s a draining job, a broken-down car, or a long-held belief—not because it’s the right choice now, but because you’ve already invested so much into it.
READ THE ARTICLEThis is what’s known as the sunk cost fallacy: the irrational pull to keep going simply because you don’t want our past efforts to be “wasted.” But what if staying the course is costing you more than you realize?
Key Takeaways:
📌 The sunk cost fallacy convinces you to keep investing in things (jobs, relationships, beliefs) that no longer align with who you are or want to become
📌 Opportunity cost—what you miss out on by staying stuck—often outweighs what you’ve already given up
📌 Letting go isn’t failure; it’s freedom. It opens the door to purpose-driven choices that serve your future self, not just your past
Ask Yourself: What in your life no longer serves you? This is your opportunity to reframe your decisions; not based on what you’ve already spent—but on what you stand to gain.