Are you a spendthrift? It’s your brain's fault!

Now you can blame your spendthrift (or your tightwad) tendencies on two regions of your brain: the nucleus accumbens and the insula.

According to The New York Times article,"The Voices in My Head Say 'Buy It!' Why Argue? " scientists have found in experiments at Stanford that the nucleus accumbens --"a region of the brain with dopamine receptors that are activated when you experience or anticipate something pleasant" --was activated when subjects wanted to buy items they liked. They also found that the insula, the region of the brain that is activated when you don't like something, was activated when the price they saw was too high. One could conclude that a person who likes shopping (a lot) has an overactive nucleus accumbens because it brings them pleasure while those who are tightfisted have an overactive insula because it literally pains them at the thought of spending money.

Of course, neither extreme is good for you.

As humans with a conscience, the ability to think logically and weigh all factors when it comes to shopping vs. saving money for long term goals (ie. college fund, buying a house, etc), we are not completely susceptible to the chemicals in our brains. We just need to exert some restraint.

Therefore, steer clear of impulsive buys -- more often than not, you'll regret it (especially when you get your credit card bill!)