Liz Weston

No one wants to waste money, but some of us go overboard trying to get the best possible deal.

I have spent nearly as much time researching which hiking socks to buy as I have choosing a new car. Others of my species — we’re called “maximizers” — might miss locking in a good mortgage interest rate while waiting for a better one. Our determination to make the optimal choice means we’re often plagued by buyer’s remorse as well as decision paralysis.

Maximizers are the polar opposite of “satisficers,” people who make decisions once they’ve found an acceptable choice. Maximizers’ high standards mean we often get better outcomes, such as jobs that pay more, says financial therapist Kristy Archuleta, associate professor of financial planning at the University of Georgia. In my latest for the Associated Press, how maximizers can reduce their decision-making angst.