Money & Behaviour

Income increases that do not produce greater financial security or a stronger sense of financial wellbeing are one of the most common and most frustrating … Read more

Financial comparison — measuring your situation against what others appear to have — is one of the most reliable mechanisms for producing both unnecessary unhappiness … Read more

Most people believe their spending decisions are the result of deliberate personal choices — a reflection of what they value and what they can afford. … Read more

The popular explanations for why some people accumulate wealth and others do not — intelligence, luck, family background, income level — each contain partial truth … Read more

The financial beliefs that shape adult behaviour are largely formed before age 12. Children who grew up hearing that money is always tight, that rich … Read more

Spending guilt — the uncomfortable feeling that follows a purchase, even one that was clearly affordable — is more common than most people realise and … Read more

The retirement savings gap in America is well-documented and genuinely alarming: the median retirement savings for Americans approaching retirement age is well under $200,000 — … Read more

Purchase regret is one of the most reliable financial signals available. Most people respond to it with guilt or self-criticism and move on. A more … Read more

Financial pressure — the sense of urgency, scarcity, or threat that accompanies financial difficulty — consistently degrades the quality of financial decisions made while under … Read more

Financial goals without deadlines are wishes. This is not a motivational cliché — it is a description of the cognitive mechanism through which goals translate … Read more