How to plan for disasters and personal finance — with social psychology
7 Jul 2008 3:33pm GMT There’s a great article in last weekend’s New York Times Magazine on disaster preparedness, which I want to use to highlight the social-psychological reasons for why we behave the way we do. Photo from e-strategyblog.com Read the article closely and notice the parallels between preparing for a disaster and preparing for your financial future. They are eerily [...]
Announcing the winner of the $1,000 gas giveaway for Sway
7 Jul 2008 2:23pm GMT Last week, I did a review of Sway, a book on behavioral psychology, and offered a $1,000 gas giveaway for the rest of 2008 through the author The winner is Philip Soriano, who, among many others, submitted a receipt of his Amazon purchase of Sway. Thanks for participating! (Philip, check your email for the details.) And [...]
“But I earn $300/year from switching banks!”
3 Jul 2008 1:24pm GMT A little comment exchange on yesterday’s post about not switching banks to get an extra 0.25% interest: Mike: I’m one of those rate-chasers, so [with $40k in emergency savings], I’ve consistently been earning anywhere between 0.65-0.85% higher than my operating money market account… That’s an extra $300/year in interest, which is definitely worth changing banks [...]
Stupid account requires $10,000 for $25 bonus, and I mock them
2 Jul 2008 4:01pm GMT Stupid marketing gimmick alert! My friend Ian sent this to me today: A Capital One Account that gives you a $25 bonus…if you have $10,000 in it. (Plus, $10,000 minimum required to get the high interest.) Wow!! Amazing!! Thank you Capital One!! Listen up. If your bank account’s best incentive is $25 for locking up $10,000, your bank [...]
Last day to buy book on irrational behavior, get $1,000 in free gas
30 Jun 2008 6:34pm GMT [Edit, 7/1/08: This contest is now closed.] Today, at 11:59pm PST, is the last day to read my book review of NYT bestselling book Sway, send your receipt, and try to win $1,000 in free gas.