The Monopoly money effect

I can't imagine I'm the only person with this problem, but my spending habit drastically changes when I am somewhere outside of the United States. I am very frugal when it comes to spending on myself when I am in the US, buying very little asides essentials such as food and water. I carefully make decisions on my purchases, weighing the benefit to cost ratio to avoid unwarranted purchases. But when I go to Korea or Japan or wherever, money doesn't figure into my thought processes. I just pay for whatever I feel like buying and go.

I've long come to the conclusion that the reason why this occurs is because non-dollar paper money does not seem like real money in my subconscious. Since the majority of my life is spent in the US and things such as cost of living expenses are done in dollar figures, those Andrew Jacksons and Benjamin Franklins seem like two hours of work or a hundred Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers from Wendy's or half a tank of gas. The money factors into my living standard.

But when I am in another country and using another type of currency, it seems like I'm just playing monopoly. This is the "monopoly money effect": the subconscious discounting of foreign currencies and disregarding it's actual valuation. Essentially, the money is just there for my convenience. The money I use in Korea isn't usable in the Ralph's, Target, or the Chipotle back home. It's disney dollars, only usable in disneyland. The Sejong Dewhangs (10000원 notes, the primary bill of use in the Korean cash economy) don't carry the same impressions on my normative valuation as ten bucks (the rough equivalent exchange into US currency) does. I'd probably take some back to the US as souvenirs if I didn't come here so god damn often. I know plenty of people who do that when they visit other foreign countries.

If I left America for good and started my life elsewhere, I'm sure the money of wherever I planted myself would feel "real" after a few weeks. But since I do not plan to do so in the near future, I'm afraid I will just continuously throw away my money during my stay wherever, not doing comparative shopping or thinking about the future implications of my spending today.