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Wallets that shrink when low on cash! | Now, buy yourself a 'smart' wallet that can control how much you spend this season. The set contains three wallets, which bear different characteristics to tell you when you have to stop shopping. One of these physically shrinks when
your bank balance is low in an effort to discourage your from spending, another
has a hinge, which becomes tighter to open when you have less money whereas the
last one vibrates every single time you use it. All three wallets have a tiny
computer inside them and use a Bluetooth connection to the individual's mobile
phone, which then connects to the Internet and their bank account information.
This means that the wallet is constantly updated with how much money the user
has in their account, and can act accordingly. The idea behind all three is that
we need to remind ourselves each time we spend our hard-earned money, rather than
just swiping a credit card and forgetting about it. Product designer John Kestner,
who works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, developed the
wallets. They are currently at the prototype stage but, should banks or consumers
take an interest, the designs could be put into mass production, he said. The
Mother Bear wallet, so named because it is protective of the money inside it,
is designed to encourage saving and has a hinge that gets harder and harder to
open the lower the bank balance. The Peacock wallet grows and shrinks depending
on how much money its owner have. The Bumblebee meanwhile has a tiny vibrating
motor inside it, which buzzes when a bank transaction takes place, be it an Internet
purchase or using a credit card at a shop. The bigger the transaction, the longer
the buzz giving those who use it a physical reminder of how much they are spending.
On his blog Kestner wrote that the Proverbial Wallets were designed to rekindle
our 'visceral connection' with money, which we have left behind. "We have trouble
controlling our consumer impulses, and there's a gap between our decision and
the consequences. This gap has widened as our physical money becomes virtual.
When we're shopping, do we know what our bank account balance is, or whether we're
over budget for the month? Our existing senses are inadequate to warn us," the
Daily Mail quoted Kestner as writing on his blog. "The Proverbial Wallet gives
us that financial sense at the point of purchase by un-abstracting virtual assets,"
Kestner added. Kestner said that he is working on a slimmed-down version of the
devices which is credit card shaped and could fit into any wallet. "We want to
make it as economical as possible - it would be rather ironic if we charged a
fortune for something that is supposed to save you money," he concluded. |
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