I find it really helpful to think about how companies are making buying something into a euphoric experience. Mostly I use this information to make informed decisions to stay away from stores/sales/not to sign up for promos. For example, I choose not to save 10% today if it means I will forever receive marketing emails because I know I'm susceptible to the marketing. I'm saving myself more than that 10% in the future. Avoiding this stuff has been one of the most helpful things to get my shopping under control.

This is a time of year where it is really hard for me to remember why I'm doing that. I came across this article from consumer checkbook today and it summarizes a lot of the tactics companies use into one place, which for me is a great reminder of why it's important to stick to my guns: https://www.checkbook.org/national/30-tricks-sellers-use-to-make-you-pay-up/

Hope this is helpful for others.