Get Money Smart

Contributed by Jeff Stoffer, jeff@stofferwealthadvisors.com

Not long ago, I found myself engaged in the delicate task of trying to lead my son to a sensible decision without giving the impression I was telling him what to do. He was considering not taking traffic school for a speeding ticket. It’s rare to get the opportunity for a “do-over.” He could pay more for insurance in the long run if he passed up the chance today to make amends for the ticket. The consequences of a poor decision can last many years. I enlisted the old adage about “shooting oneself in the foot.”

     Recently The Wall Street Journal ran an article entitled, “Training the Brain to Choose More Wisely.” It opened with the sentence, “The human brain is wired with biases that keep people from acting in their best interest.” In the last forty years a field of inquiry has emerged called behavioral finance that has shed new light on how we make investment choices.
 
 Young people aren’t the only ones who fall prey to unwise choices. We adults tend to think of ourselves as sound decision makers; we make hundreds of decisions each day. Yet we are busy people in a complex world. We cannot possibly give in-depth  consideration to every choice.
 
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