We all know that a DUI can result in major consequences, but what about Buying Under the Influence? Learn how to catch yourself before you slip! Well, we’ve just passed the autumnal equinox; summer’s given way to fall. This means we can begin to hope for some relief from the heat. It also means that… Continue reading BUI: Buying Under the Influence
Author: Carrie Rattle
Carrie Rattle is a Principal at BehavioralCents.com, a website for women focused on mind and money behaviors. She has worked in the financial services industry for 20+ years and hopes to inspire women to better prepare themselves for financial independence.
Are You a Shopaholic?
This interview with Dr. Benson appeared on FabOverFifty.com in September, 2011. A psychologist reveals why you may be a compulsive shopper–and not even realize it. What do Mary Todd Lincoln, William Randolph Hearst and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis have in common? Aside from friends in high places and triplicate names, each had an issue with what… Continue reading Are You a Shopaholic?
Stop Shopping!
Can’t stop shopping insanity? Try shopping your own closet! Every minute of every day, inside and outside of every closet, there’s a woman who thinks she’s got nothing to wear. Can you relate? Every day, closet doors open on rooms full of nostalgia and dream sizes, garments we convince ourselves we’ll one day wear again.… Continue reading Stop Shopping!
Shop ‘til You Drop: The Crisis of Consumerism
The Media Education Foundation’s film Shop ‘Til You Drop: The Crisis of Consumerism is a refreshingly contemporary and interdisciplinary peek into the machinery of American consumerism and advertising. Though it sees no end in sight to our appetite for overconsumption, it documents an end to the capacity of our planet, with its limited resources, to… Continue reading Shop ‘til You Drop: The Crisis of Consumerism
A Weekend Away that Pays for Itself?
How can you make that happen? Does this sound familiar to you? You feel the urge to buy something, but your credit card debt flashes before your eyes. From out of nowhere, an inner voice says: “Yes, I have a lot of credit card debt, but who doesn’t, these days?” Then another part of you… Continue reading A Weekend Away that Pays for Itself?
Don’t Shop, Swap! (Redux)
For many compulsive buyers, a big part of the appeal of shopping is the process of searching out and obtaining that new, better, desirable item. This process is so mesmerizing that it often overrides long-term financial plans, leaving shoppers deeply in debt. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Through the magic of swap—and in… Continue reading Don’t Shop, Swap! (Redux)
Spendster Site Scouted
Recently a colleague told me about the Spendster.org website and since she found it interesting, I wanted to check it out. With so many websites on the Internet, it is easy to get lost in the choices and the fancy html designs and I admit that I was a bit skeptical about its utility before… Continue reading Spendster Site Scouted
Slay the Junk Mail Monster! Three Websites That’ll Help
Unsolicited and unwanted credit card offers, catalogs, and magazines all have the potential to derail recovering overshoppers. These three websites will help you to opt-out of lists supplied by consumer credit reporting companies, remove your name from junk mail providers, and enable you to choose whether or not you want to receive mail from companies making… Continue reading Slay the Junk Mail Monster! Three Websites That’ll Help
Danshari: Ditching Materialism for the Simple Life
Michael Hoffman, in an interesting new article in The Japan Times Online, describes danshari, a lifestyle idea that complements three other stuff-minimal concepts, voluntary simplicity, wabi sabi, and true wealth. Voluntary simplicity, you may recall, has origins in the 19th century and calls into question the values of material wealth and status; it focuses instead… Continue reading Danshari: Ditching Materialism for the Simple Life
Crazy About Money: How Emotions Confuse Our Money Choices And What To Do About It
Dr. Maggie Baker’s new book, Crazy About Money: How Emotions Confuse Our Money Choices And What To Do About It, offers a comprehensive look at our complex and variable relationship with money throughout the course of our lives. Although we tend to view money as an autonomous component of our daily life, Dr. Baker stresses… Continue reading Crazy About Money: How Emotions Confuse Our Money Choices And What To Do About It