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Will Marshmallows Make You Better With Money?

It’s summer camping season, and along with camping comes the tradition of S’mores. This year, when I eat the marshmallows, I’ll be thinking of one of the greatest psychology experiments of all time....

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Spending Wisely During the Holidays

I meet many people this time of year who are stressed by their belief that they have to spend a lot of money on holiday gifts. There was a wonderful article in the Chicago Tribune the other day in...

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Goal Contagion: The Negative Side

Although we seem to worry the most about catching the flu, perhaps we should be equally worried about “catching” poor habits from other people. Research on the phenomenon of social contagion has shown...

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Three Questions to Tranform Your Money Habits

Imagine that there is a slight twist on the old magic genie scenario, and the genie offers to answer three questions for you. Committed as you are to your financial change efforts, you decide you are...

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Find the Excuses

When we’re trying to change a difficult financial behavior, the obvious question we ask ourselves is: “What is getting in the way of doing the right thing?” This helps us to identify barriers and...

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Building a Financial Habit?

Research by Oettingen (European Review of Social Psychology, 2012) suggests that if we’re working on building a healthy new habit, we might benefit from the “WOOP” exercise. Although it sounds like a...

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Change Your Money Behavior First

Aristotle knew a thing or two about the philosophy of “fake it ‘til you make it.” In his day, though, he didn’t call it that. Instead, he explained that we become virtuous by first putting virtues into...

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To Change a Money Habit, Get Specific

Researchers have long known that we are more likely to change a habit when we define a specific goal (like “increase the amount of money in my savings”) rather than a vague direction (“get better at...

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The First Step to Change Your Money Habits

Last week I suggested that if you have decided to change one of your money habits, it is helpful to know your starting point, also known as your current stage of change (Prochaska, Norcross, &...

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The Link Between Physical and Financial Fitness

This week, reporter Naomi Mannino wrote a comprehensive piece for Mainstreet.com proposing several links between physical health and financial health. I was honored to be interviewed for the article....

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Effertrux Publishing Releases Print Version of New Book

At last, the print version (paperback) of Pocket Change is here, available on Amazon. Every year, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions to save more, spend less, or otherwise become savvier...

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Three-Year Blogiversary

Hooray! I’m happy to celebrate three years of blogging about motivation, persistence, and impulse control and their relationship to financial health. It has been a great year. In July, I released my...

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Practicing Good Money Habits: The Myths

It’s a new year and you’ve taken on a new money goal: saving more, spending less, or expanding your financial literacy. The self-help industry proposes that it can help you with these financial goals....

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Why Self-Control Sometimes Fails

Over the past couple of blog posts, you’ve learned about the “unthinking side” of yourself, which includes the gut reactions and snap decisions that happen underneath the radar of your consciousness....

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Finances and the Practice of Gratitude

Have you ever noticed how the human brain favors the pleasure of instant gratification over the benefits of long-term health and well-being? Resisting temptation is difficult, and the inability to...

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Building Good Money Habits Through Honesty

I recently led a “change group” for individuals who were attempting to modify a habit of their choosing. When we reached the last meeting, group members reflected on their experiences, identifying what...

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Quit or Grit? Self-Discipline and Your Finances

We know that people vary in their ability to handle things well when they are faced with conflicting desires or impulses. We also know that the road to success often requires self-discipline: choosing...

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