Author: Carrie Rattle

Even most people who do not stay abreast of the investment industry will have heard of Bernie Madoff. He was the CEO of a company that scammed millions from wealthy investors and celebrities. How did that happen? Never underestimate the power of “missing out on a good thing”. We all fall into it at some… Continue reading The Power of Power

We all use the feeling or intuitive side of our brain more often than the thinking side of our brain. We get breakfast, ship the kids off to school, drive to work, fetch coffee, say good morning…all largely on auto-pilot. Mindless Eating If you think about it, we also eat that way. Brian Wansink, PhD… Continue reading Are You Spending, and Eating, on Automatic Pilot?

Dr. Walter Mischel, PhD, conducted a test with 4-year old children in the 1960’s. The children were offered a marshmallow sitting in front of them. If they waited and didn’t eat it, they would receive two marshmallows instead. It’s a fun exercise all about self-control – regulating emotions and behaviors. Dr. Mischel is still following… Continue reading Saving Money & The Marshmallow Test – Would You Pass?

‘Tis the season to be…Scammed. I’ve had two in the last 2 weeks, and you really need to be on your toes to catch them. The Time Warner magazine renewal is especially obtuse these days. You certainly wouldn’t call it customer friendly or brand building! I had 4 magazines for 1 year free as the… Continue reading Scams & Mind Games Parting You and Your Money

In our last blog we talked about mental accounting – how we separate our money into buckets in our minds. If we were all completely rational about it, generally speaking we would look at what we earn on our savings, what we pay on our debt, how our taxes are affected, and pay off our… Continue reading How to Manage Your Money Buckets & Behaviors

We all do it. We divide our money into buckets, physically or mentally for special purposes. There are buckets that are specifically defined by a financial structure, such as a mortgage or a 529 college savings fund. And then there are the other buckets that we mentally create to help drive our own behaviors. Sometimes… Continue reading Dividing Your Money into Buckets – Good or Bad?

I received a letter in the mail from US Airlines suggesting I’d won 2 round-trip airline tickets. The letter just didn’t feel right according to the Feeling side of my brain – the side we use for most of the day on auto-pilot. And, my brain was right. But I didn’t figure out exactly why… Continue reading Catch the Scam – Use Your Thinking & Feeling Brains

Not deciding – is making a decision -to do nothing. Sometimes it is because we have way too many choices. According to Statista we have 8,970 mutual funds from which to choose. It can be overwhelming! Sometimes we fear we’ll regret the choice we made. This is called Regret Aversion and is a common human… Continue reading Why You Avoid Money Decisions

We are likely to spend more money for accessories when purchased with an expensive item like a new dress, sofa, or car than if we purchased them alone. Here’s why, and how you can save money by avoiding it. My husband and I bought a new living room sofa that was a fair amount of… Continue reading You Spend More on Accessories When Purchased with a Big Item