If you think you make purchases because you logically and objectively evaluate the options at hand, then decide based strictly on your personal preferences and individual sense of value, think again. Here are four examples of how …
Psychology of Money
Experts Don’t Always Have Expertise
We hear a lot of questions lately along the lines of, “How do I know who to believe?” It’s a good question, and relevant not just in personal finance, but in other areas, especially politics, economics and health, where we’re …
There’s Money to Be Made in the 2012 Apocalypse
According to some interpretations of the Mayan calendar, the end of the world is scheduled for the winter solstice (December 21) of 2012. Survivalist entrepreneurs say it’s never too early to begin preparing for the big day.
How Attractive Clothes Shoppers Affect Our Buying Habits
Why It Pays to Ignore the Financial News
When it comes to money, it often pays to ignore financial news. The media is in the business of selling news, and to do that, they sensationalize it. Fueled by the over-eager reporting, irrational exuberance can quickly turn to …
The Upside Of Down Markets? People Grow Closer
There are so many commentators stressing the very obvious, very real and very important downside of the recent market tilt that in this Mind Over Money post we’ve decided to risk looking hopelessly Panglossian by discussing an …
Study: The Rich Really Are More Selfish
“Lower-class” individuals—i.e., folks without much money or education—demonstrate more compassion and empathy than their wealthy counterparts, according to a series of psychological studies. In social scientist speak, …
At the Root of Every Problem Today Is … Fashion?
The list of ills being blamed on the fashion industry includes sweatshops, child labor, the worldwide culture of greed, rampant consumerism, warped self-images, eating disorders, pollution, water shortages, “spiritual and psychic …
5 Ways to Keep Economic Crisis from Driving You Crazy
Everywhere I turn, I see tales of financial doom and gloom. The stock market is crashing! The dollar is inflating! Oil is peaking and homes are foreclosing! If you listen to the breathless media, it’s 2008 all over again.
How the Internet Is to Blame for Your Overspending
For eons, the concept of keeping up with the Joneses fueled people’s desires to acquire the markings of wealth and show them off. With the rise of the Internet, the Joneses aren’t just next door or around town—they’re …
Don’t Panic! For Most of Us, This Market Sell-off Is a Buying Opportunity
The dramatic stock market sell-off of the past two weeks, capped Thursday by a 512-point, 4.3% drop in the Dow, puts us in mind of a scene in Braveheart, when William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson) exhorts his troops to stay …
Farewell to ARMs: The Debt Debacle Should Convince Homeowners To Lock In Their Rates
The debt drama's potential to cause the first large rate hikes in several years should scare some borrowers off from increasingly popular adjustable rate mortgages – but will it?