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
Category: Money Psychology
Have a Good-Not a Goods-Holiday: The good life comes from doing, not having
With the holiday season upon us (and retailers lathered up for it), I want to remind us all (as I remind myself): a good holiday doesn’t have to be a goods holiday. And this year, in spite of the massive sales machine that grinds 24/7 from now until Christmas, it’s a little easier to live… Continue reading Have a Good-Not a Goods-Holiday: The good life comes from doing, not having
Takeaways from the Rebound and Recover Panel at the Texas Conference for Women
On November 10th, I was a member of the personal finance panel at the Texas Conference for Women in Houston. The panel, Rebound and Recover: Strategies for Emerging from the Recession and Taking Control of Your Finances, definitely delivered on the promise of giving the audience members practical skills and tools and I was delighted… Continue reading Takeaways from the Rebound and Recover Panel at the Texas Conference for Women
Money Buys Unhappiness
In a new study, published in the current issue of Psychological Science, Jordi Quoidbach and three colleagues demonstrate that money—even the thought of it—undermines life’s simple pleasures. Specifically, the authors found that wealthier people were less able than poorer ones to savor, to enhance and prolong positive emotional feelings such as joy, awe, excitement, contentment,… Continue reading Money Buys Unhappiness
U-Haul? She-Haul, Me-Haul: The Newest Shopping Temptation
I’m scratching my head about—and steeling myself for the potential fallout from—a new internet phenomenon, the “Haul Video,” examples of which are popping up on YouTube like mushrooms after a rain. For the past several months, teenage girls and young adult women have been creating video narratives of their latest shopping caches. The vlogger (video… Continue reading U-Haul? She-Haul, Me-Haul: The Newest Shopping Temptation
Beware: Creative Old Dogs Inventing New Dirty Tricks
On Monday, February 22nd, the Credit Card Act of 2009 took effect, outlawing several of the most egregious practices of the credit card companies. Can you finally relax? C’mon—by now you know better than that! True, your interest rate can no longer suddenly skyrocket, and a misstep with one card will no longer poison your… Continue reading Beware: Creative Old Dogs Inventing New Dirty Tricks
Cause Celeb: Are Celebrities Reflecting a Cultural Shift Toward More Mindful Consumption?
by Avis Cardella For decades now, one of our prevalent media images has been the celebrity who indulges in shopping sprees of epic proportions. We’ve all seen the magazine spreads and websites, the photographs of bag-toting actors, models, and musicians, caught in the act. The notion was simple: one of the rewards of big fame… Continue reading Cause Celeb: Are Celebrities Reflecting a Cultural Shift Toward More Mindful Consumption?
Recession Promotes Family Time Over Shopping
Jennifer Lance, writing in the January 7th Eco Child’s Play, calls our attention to a positive (and somewhat unexpected) consequence of the economic downturn. She cites a New York Times and CBS News poll which found that “more Americans are spending more time with family and friends and less time shopping during the recession.” The… Continue reading Recession Promotes Family Time Over Shopping
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)
Continued Media Focus on Compulsive Shopping
Compulsive shopping is pretty much out of the closet now, with continuing treatment in television, film, and print. Here are four recent examples of note: “The Bank of Mom and Dad,” a BBC show that begins airing on SOAPnet September 30th, is “reality programming as a financial-makeover show.” In each episode, a young woman in… Continue reading Continued Media Focus on Compulsive Shopping