The Psychology of Money
An Atlantic reading list on the tricky links between our money and our mind
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This past week, an article by my colleague Olga Khazan introduced me to a group of people called the “tightwads”: people who have trouble spending their money. Research has found that “tightwads do not scrimp because they lack money,” Olga reports. “They are not any poorer than spendthrifts (people who overspend); tightwads actually have better credit scores and more money in savings … Instead, they’re afraid to spend money that they do have.”
“Tightwads’ issues reveal how our financial choices can be more psychological than economic,” Olga notes. Today’s newsletter explores the tricky links between our money and our mind.
On the Psychology of Money
The Well-Off People Who Can’t Spend Money
By Olga Khazan
Tightwads drag around a phantom limb of poverty, no matter what their bank account says.
Stop Asking Whether Money Buys Happiness
By Michael Mechanic
It may, but only a negligible amount.
What You’re Really Worried About When You’re Worried About Money
By Arthur C. Brooks
Once you’ve met your most basic needs, an obsession with your bank account might be hiding deeper anxieties.
Still Curious?
- “350,000 a year, and just getting by”: Financial confessionals reveal that income inequality and geographic inequality have normalized absurd spending patterns, Annie Lowrey wrote in 2019.
- All the personal-finance books are wrong: They tend to treat their readers like fools without willpower. So you could argue that they’re wrong for the right reasons, Derek Thompson argued in 2022.
Other Diversions
P.S.
I recently asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. Sandi, in Alaska, writes: “I was on a boat halibut fishing ... It was raining all around us but not on us. In the distance we saw this horizontal rainbow.”
I’ll continue to feature your responses in the coming weeks. If you’d like to share, reply to this email with a photo and a short description so we can share your wonder with fellow readers in a future edition of this newsletter or on our website. Please include your name (initials are okay), age, and location. By doing so, you agree that The Atlantic has permission to publish your photo and publicly attribute the response to you, including your first name and last initial, age, and/or location that you share with your submission.
— Isabel
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