Steadfast Finances

 Investing 101, Investor Psychology         14 comments

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I ran across an interesting bit of research today suggesting that one of the leading ways investors get suckered into investment bubbles, and subsequently decimate our annual performance, is that we are far too concerned with being left out of the money making process, rather than losing our original investment.
As …

 Investing 101, Investor Psychology         6 comments

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If you’re curious why I take most investment advice and the majority of news/analysis from mainstream financial media with a grain of salt, this chart might answer your doubts.

(Note: Y axis is percent increase or decrease.)
At their peak, the mania driven belief in the bubble that these investments were ironclad, …

 Investor Psychology, Personal Finance Tips, Strategic Planning         8 comments

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With so much financial information readily available telling us how to make more money or the nonstop investment advice telling us how to get rich quick, it’s quite obvious that many of us invest too much time and brainpower trying to get our money to make more money instead of …

 Documentary Films, Investing 101, Investor Psychology         6 comments

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Perhaps nothing encompasses the roller coaster ride that was the 2000 to 2009 decade better than David Faber’s The Bubble Decade. If you haven’t seen it, set 45 minutes aside and take a look back at just how gullible we actually were to follow the herd and buy into some …

 Investing 101, Investor Psychology         34 comments

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If you’ve ever wondered why it’s so difficult to ignore peer pressure and why you feel anxiety when expressing a differing opinion from the herd, you might want to blame Ardi and the rest of your human ancestors.
Like most animals on the planet, humans come pre-programmed to notice the behavior …

 Investing 101, Investor Psychology         5 comments

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I’m a little weird in that I rarely read articles or watch television programs that I fully agree with. I find that it makes me consider an alternative point of view or tweaks my thought process to include new variables into the decision making process that my (occasionally arrogant) analytical …

 Investing 101, Investor Psychology         15 comments

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I’ve been pounding the table pretty hard on investment bubbles lately. Probably because in the last decade, I’ve experienced more popped bubbles than I care to remember.
Or perhaps it’s that I’m constantly amazed by the herding behavior of humans. After all, we’re not that different from the rest of the …

 Business Ethics, Consumer Education         6 comments

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Just when I thought my cynical view of the world couldn’t get more bleak, I see the results of a simple behavioral economics experiment involving thievery and New York City bankers.
According to Professor Dan Ariely (author of Predictably Irrational), everyone has a tendency to steal or cheat just a little …

 Real Estate, Vulture Investing         4 comments

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The NY Times recently published a very powerful interactive graphic comparing median income vs. median home prices from a wide selection of American cities dating back to 1979.
At first glance, it really does appear all that sensational.  However, as a personal finance blogger, the conclusions I’ve drawn from this graphic …

 Personal Finance Tips, Saving Money         2 comments

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Financial planners and personal finance advocates would likely agree that winning the ”Why should I save money?” argument is one of their most difficult challenges to overcome.
Being a student of psychology and behavioral economics, I generally try to tap some sort of emotional or behavioral trigger in someone when discussing their …

 Auto Sales         2 comments

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I’ve blown my negativity horn on the Big Three long enough, and I hope this post will the last time I feel the need to voice my displeasure about the Big Three Automakers anytime soon.  Not until they come back in March 2009 begging for more taxpayer money at least.
However, …