While a lot of people are still deeply impacted by the recession, a number of post-recession articles are starting to emerge, including one from US News & World Report that suggested 10 ways to “thrive” after the recession. It described the new “evolved consumer” who “shops with more discipline and focuses on buying products with […]
Archive | Psychology of Money
Best Advice Ever
Fortune magazine and CNN.com recently asked several famous people about the best words of wisdom they ever received. For Tiger Woods, it was his father’s advice when Tiger was just 6 or 7 to keep things simple – to pick a spot on the golf course where he wanted to hit the ball and focus […]
Easing the Financial Pain
Just about everyone is feeling the pain of our troubled economy. The extreme manifestations make headlines – suicides and murders that are somehow tied to financial problems. For most people, there’s just a nagging sense of financial anxiety. An ABC News article mentioned a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services web site dedicated […]
Fear, Anger, and a Ray of Hope
Our tattered economy has a lot of people feeling fearful, angry, and surprisingly, okay. These mixed findings come from a new survey by CNN and Opinion Research Corporation, which found that nearly 75 percent of U.S. adults are scared about the way things are going in our country. About the same number are angry. Those […]
Of Calories and Cash
There are a number of parallels between the worlds of nutrition and finance. On the negative side, people tend to describe a budget in the same terms they use to describe a diet – it’s something one goes on, as in, “Poor Brian, he’s on a budget.” However, as was pointed out in a New […]
What’s On Your “To-Be” List?
“My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” – Proverbs 7:1-3 The start of a new year always gets me thinking of […]
Irrational Money Moves
Some of the most interesting (and odd!) research about money comes from behavioral economists and psychologists. As noted in a recent Economist article, one study found that diners tend to spend more in a restaurant named “Cafe 97” than one named “Cafe 17.” Another study looked the behavior of people who carry a balance on […]
Deals That Delight
One upside to a down economy is that lots of products are on deep discount before Christmas. But which deals will truly satisfy? According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, behavioral economists and psychologists have found that products that enrich your relationship with friends or family members rate the highest on the satisfaction scale. […]
Giving THANKS
Isn’t it great that the holiday season begins with Thanksgiving? There’s something good for the soul about pausing long enough to take stock of all that we have to be thankful for. And while I’ve mentioned the following idea before, I think it’s worth repeating. One of the best ways to remember all that we […]
Penny Wise and Artichoke Foolish
Like many of us, a grocery shopper named Jill is paying more attention to the cost of food these days. So, as described in a New York Times article, when one store’s price on cauliflower seemed too high, she went to another store, and then another. Finally, she found a good price, only to discover […]