--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you have urgent current expenses to…" description: "\"If you have urgent current expenses to cover, then future priorities like college and retirement fall off your radar because they are simply less press..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a4/sendhil-mullainathan-14742_attention_if-you-have-urgent-current-expenses-to-c_2807400.jpg" --- # If you have urgent current expenses to cover, then future… ![“If you have urgent current expenses to cover, then future priorities like college and retirement fall off your radar because they are simply less pressing. Scarcity of attention prevents us from seeing what's really important. The psychology of scarcity engrosses us in only our present needs.” quote by Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a4/sendhil-mullainathan-14742_attention_if-you-have-urgent-current-expenses-to-c_2807400.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a4/sendhil-mullainathan-14742_attention_if-you-have-urgent-current-expenses-to-c_2807400.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a4/sendhil-mullainathan-14742_attention_if-you-have-urgent-current-expenses-to-c_2807400.jpg) > “If you have urgent current expenses to cover, then future priorities like college and retirement fall off your radar because they are simply less pressing. Scarcity of attention prevents us from seeing what's really important. The psychology of scarcity engrosses us in only our present needs.” [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scarcity of attention makes people focus on immediate needs, causing long‑term goals like education and retirement to be ignored. **In simple terms:** Attention scarcity pushes focus to short‑term needs. Key Takeaway Create systems that protect time for long‑term planning. Themes economics psychology behavioral finance Mood reflective motivated Type educational strategic When to use this quote - budgeting - financial planning - career development - policy design Key Concepts attention scarcity temporal discounting Questions to Reflect On - How can you redesign environments to highlight future priorities? - What habits counteract attention scarcity? A Different Perspective People may resist planning due to present bias despite awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Priorities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priorities/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Radar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radar/) [Retirement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retirement/) [Scarcity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scarcity/) ## Related quotes > [There's a popular image of people who don't save for the future as lacking in self-control. But the reason saving is so hard has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/there-s-a-popular-image-of-people-who-don-t-save-for-the-future-as/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [“Plenty of information leads to scarcity of attention. When people are overwhelmed with the volume of information confronting them, it is hard to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-nye/plenty-of-information-leads-to-scarcity-of-attention-when-people-are/) [Joseph Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-nye/) > [God puts certain things in certain people. I'm a restless soul. I'm always searching. I'm always pressing to find what truth is and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-jackson/god-puts-certain-things-in-certain-people-i-m-a-restless-soul-i-m/) [Jonathan Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-jackson/) > [One of the hardest things to do is to keep pressing forward when people around you are giving up...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-hardest-things-to-do-is-to-keep-pressing-forward-when/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is nowhere pressing to get to because there is absolutely nothing wrong with where I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-kest/there-is-nowhere-pressing-to-get-to-because-there-is-absolutely/) [Bryan Kest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-kest/) > [I think about pressing myself against him, but I can't, because all our secrets would keep a space between us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-think-about-pressing-myself-against-him-but-i-can-t-because-all-our/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [There is no such thing as pressing on your own. You need to know where to stand, and you have to coordinate that with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-de-bruyne/there-is-no-such-thing-as-pressing-on-your-own-you-need-to-know-where/) [Kevin De Bruyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-de-bruyne/) > [When I look at the chaotic and volatile debate right now, both in Germany and around the world, my impression and concern is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peer-steinbruck/when-i-look-at-the-chaotic-and-volatile-debate-right-now-both-in/) [Peer Steinbruck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peer-steinbruck/) > [Show Republicans a shiny pro-life or pro-marriage issue and they'd much rather address that controversial topic than keep pressing on the tyranny that Obamacare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/show-republicans-a-shiny-pro-life-or-pro-marriage-issue-and-they-d/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [If one elevator button has a star on it, I'm pressing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-novak/if-one-elevator-button-has-a-star-on-it-i-m-pressing-it/) [BJ Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-novak/) > [Food redistribution is economically sensible, ecologically pressing, and socially responsible; it is high time food corporations woke up to it and governments started funding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristram-stuart/food-redistribution-is-economically-sensible-ecologically-pressing/) [Tristram Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristram-stuart/) > [It's rare that I'm able to get to my desk in the morning without stopping halfway there, turning around, and going in the opposite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-mahoney/it-s-rare-that-i-m-able-to-get-to-my-desk-in-the-morning-without/) [Rosemary Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-mahoney/) > [President Obama believes that income inequality is one of the most pressing matters facing the nation. If we are going to be a country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/president-obama-believes-that-income-inequality-is-one-of-the-most/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I hear that Brooke Ashley is also pressing charges. I don't know how she can prove anything. How can they prove anything, whether it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-wallice/i-hear-that-brooke-ashley-is-also-pressing-charges-i-don-t-know-how/) [Marc Wallice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-wallice/) > [It's not about playing pressing or counter-pressing for the sake of it. It's about control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralf-rangnick/it-s-not-about-playing-pressing-or-counter-pressing-for-the-sake-of/) [Ralf Rangnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralf-rangnick/) ## More by Sendhil Mullainathan > [One cost, for the lonely: If you want to be interesting, the one thing you shouldn't do is really focus on the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/one-cost-for-the-lonely-if-you-want-to-be-interesting-the-one-thing/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [It's hard to get people to empathize with the poor. You can get some people to sympathize with the poor, but to empathize is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/it-s-hard-to-get-people-to-empathize-with-the-poor-you-can-get-some/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [Eat better or work out more, and youll see the benefits weeks, months or years down the road. Sleep more, and youll see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/eat-better-or-work-out-more-and-youll-see-the-benefits-weeks-months/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [Marketing is selling an ad to a firm. So, in some sense, a lot of marketing is about convincing a CEO, 'This is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/marketing-is-selling-an-ad-to-a-firm-so-in-some-sense-a-lot-of/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [Organizations talk about spending their lives firefighting - dealing with the next problem without having the bandwidth to deal with what is down the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/organizations-talk-about-spending-their-lives-firefighting-dealing/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [Things that price at $4.99 sell very differently than things that price at $5.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/things-that-price-at-4-99-sell-very-differently-than-things-that/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [People go shopping, we spend on so many things, and we just don't know. We don't know the prices of things. But gasoline, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/people-go-shopping-we-spend-on-so-many-things-and-we-just-don-t-know/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [You can get pictures into what people are sort of thinking about others. Just go onto Google and type 'Why are Indians' and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/you-can-get-pictures-into-what-people-are-sort-of-thinking-about/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [If women's choices - such as taking time off to rear children - make them less productive in the economy, does adolescent boys' behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/if-women-s-choices-such-as-taking-time-off-to-rear-children-make-them/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [Policymakers think that if they get the abstractions right, that will drive behavior in the desired direction. But the world happens in real time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/policymakers-think-that-if-they-get-the-abstractions-right-that-will/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [Faced with a time shortage, we squeeze tasks into the nooks and crannies of our calendar, leaving less and less time to switch between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/faced-with-a-time-shortage-we-squeeze-tasks-into-the-nooks-and/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [Busy people all make the same mistake: they assume they are short on time, which of course, they are. But time is not their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/busy-people-all-make-the-same-mistake-they-assume-they-are-short-on/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [There's a popular image of people who don't save for the future as lacking in self-control. But the reason saving is so hard has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/there-s-a-popular-image-of-people-who-don-t-save-for-the-future-as/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [Even when a man and a woman perform equally well in a task - say, solving math problems - men are more willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/even-when-a-man-and-a-woman-perform-equally-well-in-a-task-say/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) > [Our outrage at inequality is primal. But primal emotions are not always noble ones. Of course, when I see a colleague receive some award,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sendhil-mullainathan/our-outrage-at-inequality-is-primal-but-primal-emotions-are-not/) [Sendhil Mullainathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) [Explore all 45 Sendhil Mullainathan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sendhil-mullainathan/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you have urgent current expenses to cover, then future priorities like college and retirement fall off your radar because they are simply less pressing. 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