Leaning back in a chair, playing Wii Fit, standing on one foot, and wearing high heels are all ways that you can hack your mind into spending less when you’re getting ready to buy something, according to researchers at Brigham Young University, who found in a new study that subjecting yourself to some sort of balancing exercise while shopping could make you more likely to balance your options as well.

“If you’re someone who tends to overspend, or you’re kind of an extreme person, then maybe you ought to consider shopping in high heels,” Jeffrey Larson, study author and professor of marketing at BYU, said in a statement.

The strange correlation is based on the brain’s subconscious awareness of metaphors, which has the power to influence our actions, the Daily News reported. Balance “is metaphorically linked in the mind to the concept of parity,” the researchers wrote.

To test this theory, they asked people to shop for TVs online while leaning back in their chairs. Study participants were more likely to choose a 42-inch TV for $450, instead of a 32- inch TV for $300 or a 50-inch TV for $650. Balancing in their chair led them to balance their spending too, thereby avoiding an extreme purchase — whether it’s the most expensive or the cheapest.

Other experiments tested participants abilities to make product choices while playing a Wii Fit game that involved balance, as well as standing on one foot while considering which printer to buy. In all instances, participants were more likely to compromise.

The findings support what’s known as “the compromise effect,” a marketing technique that manipulates a consumer’s tendency to buy the middle option, rather than options from either extreme. Because of this tendency, many retailers offer multiple options with at least one of them being very expensive.

Other balance hacks that can improve shopping decisions include buying things while on a cruise ship or while moving from store to store in icy conditions, the researchers said.

Source: Larson S, Billeter D. Consumer Behavior in “Equilibrium”: How Experiencing Physical Balance Increases Compromise Choice. Journal of Marketing Research. 2013.