When I was speaking about Christian Minimalism for a gathered group recently, one of the attendees made this comment: “I have a hard time getting rid of stuff, even if it’s stuff I’m not using, because I spent money on it.”

This is a common problem– and it has a name: the sunk cost fallacy.

Sunk Cost Fallacy

Basically, the sunk cost fallacy is our tendency to keep or continue something, even if giving it up would be better for us, because we’ve already put in time, energy or resources into it. We think quitting or getting rid of it would mean that what we did or spent was in vain.

So, instead of making the decision to give up or quit– which would be more beneficial for us– we instead keep it or keep going, which hurts us in the long run.

The participant’s experience of not being able to get rid of some of her stuff (stuff that is just taking up space, adding to clutter, and not being used) because she spent money on it is a great example of the sunk cost fallacy. She put in the monetary resources to get it, so now she feels she has to keep it. Most of us have experienced some version of this feeling with our own material possessions.

Another great example is watching a movie that is not what you thought it was going to be. You make it a half-hour in, and you consider abandoning it. But, since you already put in the time and energy (and money, if it’s in the movie theater or you rented it via streaming) to watch, you feel like you have to continue watching. I remember doing this in a movie theater years ago with a particularly terrible movie– it was bad almost from the start, but I ended up staying for the full two and a half hours because I had spent the money and time and energy to be there. I also kept thinking the movie would get better. It didn’t.

There’s a deep irony to making decisions based on the sunk cost fallacy. In trying to make the best of using our time, energy, and resources, we actually waste them more– we continue spending time, energy, and resources on something that just isn’t worth it. By keeping those things around, that participant has more clutter and has to deal with upkeep. By staying in that movie, I lost two and a quarter hours of my life I’ll never get back.

If that participant said to herself “Oh, well, I did spend money on these things, but getting rid of them would help with the clutter and take less upkeep time and energy,” she would have benefited enormously. Similarly, if I had decided staying for that movie wasn’t worth it, I would have had extra time to do something else worth doing– maybe resting in a different way, or spending time with God.

Knowing When to Give Up

When situations like this occur, we can be aware of our tendency towards the sunk cost fallacy and be OK with giving it up. Sometimes changing course mid-stream is the best thing we can do.

When you start feeling like you’re falling into sunk cost fallacy, like you have to stay the course even if it’s not working, ask yourself: “Would staying in this/keeping this stop me from doing other things that matter more? Would stopping/getting rid of this help me long-term?” If the answer is yes to both of these questions, it’s time to stop or give up.

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

2 Timothy 1:7

Often, sunk cost fallacy is rooted in fear– fear that we made the wrong decision, and because we made the wrong decision, we have to keep going. But God gives us the courage to do what’s best– to have self-control, to love ourselves by making better decisions, and to use our power wisely and for good.

May God help you to know when giving it up is the right decision!

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