In Ireland, where the recession has hit even harder than in the United States, a new survey yields results that are simultaneously worrisome and encouraging. In a piece published in The Herald, Ireland’s evening newspaper, Cormac Byrne discusses the survey’s results. Some 40% of the 250 youths polled said that ”financial limitations on their family… Continue reading Irish Youth Feel Recession Keenly, are Prepared to Share the Burden
Category: Money Behaviors
Sim Sites: A Surprising Low-Cost, Low-Risk Alternative for Some Overshoppers
The global recession is pinching pretty much everyone, scaling us all back. Even dyed-in-the-wool overshoppers are curtailing their purchases, dragged into prudence by economic anxiety. For some, however, Sim Sites—online virtual communities such as Second Life, There, or Moove—are an increasingly attractive alternative. In these worlds, your avatar (the character that represents you) can shop… Continue reading Sim Sites: A Surprising Low-Cost, Low-Risk Alternative for Some Overshoppers
Weighing-In (Part 4)
We’ve now looked in some detail at the Daily and Weekly Weigh-Ins, a keeping of numbers that will tell you how much you’ve spent, what you’ve spent it on, and how much you could have saved had you bought only what’s more necessary rather than less. In order for these numbers to begin revealing the… Continue reading Weighing-In (Part 4)
Weighing-In (Part 3)
Over the last two postings, we’ve been examining Weighing In, an important technique for sweeping away the financial fog most overshoppers are mired in. We’ve looked at four columns on the Daily Weigh-In Form—Item Purchased, Actual Cost, Necessity Score, and Necessity Cost. Today, we’ll look at the second column, Category. The idea here is straightforward:… Continue reading Weighing-In (Part 3)
Weighing-In (Part 2)
We may think our wants equal our needs. In other words, that we just have to have a certain pair of shoes or gadget to be happy, successful, etc. While this can seem simple when we’re talking about basic needs like shelter and food, it can get murky when we’re looking at other items. Here’s an… Continue reading Weighing-In (Part 2)
Credit Cards: Clearing, but with a Strong Probability of Curveballs
As we noted in the last newsletter (see “Credit Card Act of 2009,” June 2009), new legislation now curtails several egregious practices that credit card companies have been using to gouge their customers. Now, with some sectors of the economy—though certainly not others!—beginning to move in the direction of recovery, it’s the right moment to… Continue reading Credit Cards: Clearing, but with a Strong Probability of Curveballs
Health Care Reform for Overshoppers:The Centrality of Self Care (Part I)
As the president and congress turn their attention to problem elements of our health care image system—notably, skyrocketing costs and inequities in access—it’s a particularly good time to remind overshoppers about their own health care. And they need reminding: research has shown that compulsive buyers are often woefully deficient in managing their health care, and… Continue reading Health Care Reform for Overshoppers:The Centrality of Self Care (Part I)
Consumer Behavior: Messages into the Void?
Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior (Viking, 2009) . An old philosopher’s question asks: “If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one to hear it, does it make a sound?” An updated version, tongue-in-cheek, is this: “If a man speaks in the forest and there’s no woman to hear him, is he still… Continue reading Consumer Behavior: Messages into the Void?
Credit Card Act of 2009
On May 20th, Congress passed the Credit Card Act of 2009, which offers some long overdue protections to consumers. New rules for applying credit card payments. First, the deadline forpayments has been standardized to 5 p.m. on the due date. (Companies can no longer charge late fees by stipulating, for example, that the payment has… Continue reading Credit Card Act of 2009
Women’s Spending Behavior Linked to Their Menstrual Cycles
In a study that applies to some 40% of all overshoppers, spending behavior has been demonstrably linked to menstrual cycles. Professor Karen Pine, of the University of Hertfordshire, presented “Sheconomics: Why Women’s Emotions Cost Them Money” at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference in April. Specifically, her study looked at 322 pre-menopausal women not using… Continue reading Women’s Spending Behavior Linked to Their Menstrual Cycles