Memaknai Mental Accounting dalam Pembayaran Digital: Konstruksi Linguistik pada Musisi

Abstract

Digital payments have transformed money management because a single balance can be psychologically treated as different categories of funds. This phenomenon is relevant to musicians, whose income is often irregular and who manage both personal and collective funds. Previous studies have mainly examined mental accounting from cognitive and consumption perspectives, while the role of language in constructing financial categories among creative workers remains underexplored. This study aims to examine how musicians construct mental accounting in digital payment practices and how language contributes to this process. An interpretive qualitative approach with a case study design was employed. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and relevant digital communication documentation and analyzed thematically using Mental Accounting Theory and a linguistic construction perspective. The findings show that mental accounting is constructed through categorization, linguistic labeling, purpose-based allocation, restrictions on fund use, and financial evaluation. Language functions not only to describe transactions but also to signal the status, ownership, purpose, and boundaries of funds. The study concludes that language is an important mechanism for maintaining mental boundaries around money. This study contributes to behavioral accounting and linguistic research by demonstrating how financial categories are constructed through language in digital payment practices