Who among us hasn’t come back from a shopping excursion, looked over the just-purchased haul, and wondered, What was I thinking? Often, our shopping decisions aren’t the result of a completely logical thought process, but are instead affected by what we smell, hear, and touch, and what people around us are doing inside the store.
Psychology of Money
Black Friday: Fast and Frenzied
The end of Thanksgiving week represents the high point of American consumption — a purposefully designed fast and frenzied shopping atmosphere at stores all over the country. And that’s exactly how many shoppers like it.
Why So Many Americans Don’t Have Bank Accounts
At a time when you can pay bills online and deposit checks remotely using a cell phone, it’s amazing how many Americans don’t have bank accounts. One in nine households is without a checking account.
Is Dollar-Cost Averaging Dumb?
Investing all at once beats trickling money into the market two-thirds of the time, says a report from Vanguard. But let’s not throw dollar-cost averaging under the bus just yet. What’s piece of mind worth?
Does a Low Price Mean Good Value or Bad Quality?
While some shoppers pounce on rock-bottom prices without hesitation, others are tentative concerning “doorbusters” and eye-popping 80% off deals. After all, doesn’t a cheap price equate to cheap quality?
Why Suicides Are More Common in Richer Neighborhoods
Happiness is directly related to how much money we make. We’ve known that for a while. So it shouldn’t be surprising that our earnings also correlate with suicide rates.
Why Holiday Season ‘Self-Gifting’ Is Such a Huge Retail Trend
We’ve all heard that it is better to give than receive. During the holiday shopping period, there’s a new twist to this old adage: With the rise of “self-gifting,” many consumers are clearly big fans of the idea of “giving” — …
Is the U.S. Waging a War on Savers?
Government policies that discourage saving are one of the chief reasons that so many Americans fail to put money away regularly.
When Keeping Up with the Joneses Means You’ll Save More Money
Wanna boost your savings account? Get a buddy to prod you along. According to a new study, higher interest rates have little or no effect on how much a person saves. But when a peer group is involved and participants monitor each …
Nantucket Project: Small Island, Big Ideas for Fixing Our Economic Future
Prominent thinkers at this year’s Nantucket Project worried about flagging innovation and corruption in government. But they’re also developing technology that lets kids teach themselves to read and entrepreneurs to move …
Waiting for Hours to Buy Stuff Is Totally Illogical – But We Love It!
According to the experts, the best explanation for why consumers wait in line just so that they can hand over money for the newest iPhone or a Black Friday doorbuster deal is that … it’s fun?
Millions on Pet Halloween Costumes? Why We Spend More and More on Pets
American consumers are expected to collectively spend $370 million on pet costumes this Halloween. That’s $70 million more than last year, and a whopping 40% increase compared to 2010. And how’s this for perspective: Americans …
