Why Can"t I Manage Money?
I think I am managing my money right but I am not.
What's going on? What is keeping me from doing the right things like saving, having money left over at the end of the month and paying off debt? Are these a brief summation of what you are feeling? Don't worry you are normal.
You may be feeling bewildered because no one is telling you what you are up against.
Let me give you the short version of your biggest problem.
It is well chronicled and it is you.
More specifically it is your psychological makeup.
You are hardwired to make the mistakes that you are making and marketers are taking full advantage of your vulnerabilities.
Your vulnerability is that humans evolved to survive.
Despite what utopian ideals we may have the number one reason that humans survive is that we procreate really well.
We are driven to make and have babies at a rate that makes us competitive with bunnies.
We think as rationally as Wapiti in rutting season.
It is 98% of our mind but it is not in our conscious mind.
It is in our unconscious mind and it rules our behavior.
And you know this is true.
I know what you are thinking right now.
A guy named Sigmund Freud identified this over 100 years ago and called it the "Id".
What's this got to do with money? Well, money operates very rationally.
If you have a budget surplus every month you will be able to save or pay off debts.
Then you will accumulate assets that will increase in value and give you more income.
The rational cycle continues until you are rich.
Another example is that Compound interest has the rule of 72.
So how do folks who are rich do it? Well, they hook up the small part of their brain that is rational and connect it to the rational characteristics of money.
It is really hard to do when you are young and the hormones that fuel your drive to procreate are flowing like rivers through your veins.
What makes you even more vulnerable is that marketers hire psychologists to find what triggers the unconscious mind to make decisions that are not rational.
A current example is that the roof design on some cars has the same curve as that of a young woman's hips.
You look at that car and the excitement you feel is welled up from your subliminal drive to procreate.
You don't even need marketers to get you to part with your money.
My 17 year old daughter and her team mates were fundraising in front of a local liquor store.
I was assigned the job of sitting in the parking lot to make sure everything stayed safe.
I could not believe what I saw.
Young guys got out of their cars, took one look at these athletic young girls and instinctively reached for their wallets before they even got within 10 yards of the fundraisers.
Both Males and Females are hardwired similarly in that both are hard wired for procreation.
It is different in how but it is the same.
The next question is how do I get a grip on how to manage my money rationally? Hopefully you were trained about these things by your parents.
In Freud speak this is the Ego.
From this source there is a full range of quality and lack of quality for training.
However, even the best training is not enough to keep down the power of the procreation drive.
When you know better but you do it anyways there are 106 different ways that your brain is hardwired to allow you to see your irrational behavior as a reasonable alternative.
These are called cognitive biases.
This article is supposed to be the skinny on this stuff so research this phenomenon.
You will be introduced to a wide variety of everyday lies that you have told and have heard told to you.
Eventually the rational mind starts to take over behavior.
Psychiatrists and counselors are trained to expect to see this phenomenon identified by Freud as the Superego.
It develops slowly and starts to flourish enough to dominate behavior between the ages of 35 and 45.
You older folks take a look around and you know this makes sense.
For younger readers, watch yourself and/or your friends go through the trials and tribulations until your capacity to be sane and rational overpowers your desire to procreate with anything that looks good.
In the meantime try to find some personal financial coaching to minimize the damage.
Try and make the connection between your rational brain and the rational machinations of money.
What's going on? What is keeping me from doing the right things like saving, having money left over at the end of the month and paying off debt? Are these a brief summation of what you are feeling? Don't worry you are normal.
You may be feeling bewildered because no one is telling you what you are up against.
Let me give you the short version of your biggest problem.
It is well chronicled and it is you.
More specifically it is your psychological makeup.
You are hardwired to make the mistakes that you are making and marketers are taking full advantage of your vulnerabilities.
Your vulnerability is that humans evolved to survive.
Despite what utopian ideals we may have the number one reason that humans survive is that we procreate really well.
We are driven to make and have babies at a rate that makes us competitive with bunnies.
We think as rationally as Wapiti in rutting season.
It is 98% of our mind but it is not in our conscious mind.
It is in our unconscious mind and it rules our behavior.
And you know this is true.
I know what you are thinking right now.
A guy named Sigmund Freud identified this over 100 years ago and called it the "Id".
What's this got to do with money? Well, money operates very rationally.
If you have a budget surplus every month you will be able to save or pay off debts.
Then you will accumulate assets that will increase in value and give you more income.
The rational cycle continues until you are rich.
Another example is that Compound interest has the rule of 72.
So how do folks who are rich do it? Well, they hook up the small part of their brain that is rational and connect it to the rational characteristics of money.
It is really hard to do when you are young and the hormones that fuel your drive to procreate are flowing like rivers through your veins.
What makes you even more vulnerable is that marketers hire psychologists to find what triggers the unconscious mind to make decisions that are not rational.
A current example is that the roof design on some cars has the same curve as that of a young woman's hips.
You look at that car and the excitement you feel is welled up from your subliminal drive to procreate.
You don't even need marketers to get you to part with your money.
My 17 year old daughter and her team mates were fundraising in front of a local liquor store.
I was assigned the job of sitting in the parking lot to make sure everything stayed safe.
I could not believe what I saw.
Young guys got out of their cars, took one look at these athletic young girls and instinctively reached for their wallets before they even got within 10 yards of the fundraisers.
Both Males and Females are hardwired similarly in that both are hard wired for procreation.
It is different in how but it is the same.
The next question is how do I get a grip on how to manage my money rationally? Hopefully you were trained about these things by your parents.
In Freud speak this is the Ego.
From this source there is a full range of quality and lack of quality for training.
However, even the best training is not enough to keep down the power of the procreation drive.
When you know better but you do it anyways there are 106 different ways that your brain is hardwired to allow you to see your irrational behavior as a reasonable alternative.
These are called cognitive biases.
This article is supposed to be the skinny on this stuff so research this phenomenon.
You will be introduced to a wide variety of everyday lies that you have told and have heard told to you.
Eventually the rational mind starts to take over behavior.
Psychiatrists and counselors are trained to expect to see this phenomenon identified by Freud as the Superego.
It develops slowly and starts to flourish enough to dominate behavior between the ages of 35 and 45.
You older folks take a look around and you know this makes sense.
For younger readers, watch yourself and/or your friends go through the trials and tribulations until your capacity to be sane and rational overpowers your desire to procreate with anything that looks good.
In the meantime try to find some personal financial coaching to minimize the damage.
Try and make the connection between your rational brain and the rational machinations of money.
Source...