The same person can make a different financial decision depending on how close they are to payday.

A choice made near payday is not necessarily being made by a more disciplined person than the same choice made just after it. Research points to a change in willingness to bind the future self as the pay cycle moves.

That matters because it moves part of the explanation out of character and into conditions. Timing, available cash and felt scarcity can change what looks possible. A sound decision process records those conditions instead of treating each choice as a clean test of willpower.