Why do smart people trade away so much money and freedom for just a little convenience?

We do it all the time. We take the easy path, the simple shortcut or the long-term bad deal simply because it feels easier.

The reason? Thinking is not worth the hassle.

Cognitive load overwhelms us. Too many choices. The stakes feel too high. Every day, we make 1,000 times as many different decisions as our cavemen ancestors did. We’re exhausted from all the decisions, and more than that, from the narrative we have about making them poorly.
Seth Godin

I shop at NoFrills partially because I have found the prices on many commodities to be markedly cheaper than elsewhere. But I also shop there because of limited choice. More choice actually makes you less happy, which is counter to what many believe. I asked some people why they would shop at Super Store knowing that the prices are in some cases much much higher (same product, same parent company) and it came down to convenience, and choice. People may unknowingly make themselves less happy by these decisions.

Notre Dame high school has an interesting cognitive load links which differ from my usual reading on the topic.