Dollars and Sense
by Dan Ariely and Jeff Kreisler
Ariely applies behavioral economics to money: relativity, mental accounting, the pain of paying, anchoring, overvaluing what we own and the future, with humor from Kreisler. It is entertaining and explains why budgets fail; the practical advice in the final section is thinner than the diagnosis.
Read it if…
you want to understand the mental tricks behind your money mistakes.
Skip it if…
you want a plan; this is understanding with light prescriptions.
Three things you will actually use
- Opportunity cost is invisible; make it visible.
- Payment pain is a feature; cards remove it.
- Mental accounts are fiction; use them deliberately.
Do this first
Before your next purchase, ask what else that money could buy, in concrete terms.
Our verdict
Entertaining and diagnostic.
Compare with other Money books
Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes
Gary Belsky and Thomas Gilovich · Money
Concise and practical.
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