While some shoppers pounce on rock-bottom prices without hesitation, others are tentative concerning “doorbusters” and …
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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 …
Got Stuff? Typical American Home Is Cluttered with Possessions — and Stressing Us Out
The idea for a new book by UCLA researchers sounds pretty boring. A team of anthropologists went into 32 typical homes — middle-class, dual-income families, with school-age children — and cataloged what they saw. Sorta like …
How Celebrity Endorsements Can Backfire
Celebrities obviously bring attention to the products they endorse. That’s why manufacturers, retailers, and brands are willing to drop millions to get celebs as spokespeople. Yet a new study shows that sometimes, the celebrity …
Should We Stop Referring to People as ‘Consumers’?
The term “consumers” is routinely used in place of “people” and “citizens.” While most people (consumers?) don’t notice or care much about the terms being used interchangeably, there are those who resent being labeled as …
Maybe the Slackers Who Never Set a Budget Know Something
A new study questions the long-accepted wisdom of setting a budget and sticking to it. The purpose of establishing a budget is to rein in one’s spending, but under certain circumstances, setting a budget does the opposite — and …
Free-Spending Consumers Are Offended by … Deep Discounts?
It happens all the time: You buy an item at one price, and then see others buy the same item a little later on for a much cheaper price. This is standard practice nowadays, but it still gets customers angry. How angry? A new …
Study: Working on Wall Street Is Bad for Your Health
What does working 120 hours a week get you? Hopefully, a pretty good paycheck and bonus. According to a new study, though, there are other, less welcomed side effects that accompany a demanding, high-pressure job on Wall Street, …
The Weird Ways Gender Ratios Affect Dating, Spending, Saving—and the Size of Your Engagement Ring
Men are known to go to great lengths—and great expense—to impress women. This is most obviously the case when the male population outnumbers that of females, and laws of supply and demand kick in.
How Shopping Is Good for the Economy—And Your Soul
Forget about diligent saving, careful spending, and avoiding debt. Forget about tax cuts and private investment. For the economy to blossom, it is essential—and morally, the right thing to do—for consumers and the government …
Study: Shoppers Make Better Decisions If They Don’t Think Too Much
Consumers have plenty of choices in the marketplace. Too many choices, really. For instance, does Betty Crocker need five kinds of vanilla cake mix? Do shoppers really want to decide among 200 different shampoos filling an entire …
Foreclosures Are Bad for Your Health
Losing your home is a nightmare—enough to make you sick to your stomach, and then some. Just how stressful is it to go through a foreclosure? A new study indicates that a rise in foreclosures correlates to an increase in …
