Comments for Psychology of Money Blog

Comment on To Rationalize or Not? That is the Question. by JamesD

JamesD — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:11:33 +0000

Thanks for the useful info. It’s so interesting

Comment on To Rationalize or Not? That is the Question. by Kare Castle

Kare Castle — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:48:08 +0000

Great article, Jim. The client example you give is very good. Now I’m trying to make connections with how people might use Rationalization in other financial, career or life areas. Anyone have any good examples?

Comment on Who was Adolf Merckle and Why are we Writing about Him? by Ronald Meredith

Ronald Meredith — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:00:55 +0000

I am not part of the millionaires club yet but I do realize the importance of thinking and focusing on the positive side of obtaining wealth. I experience, the ups and down in my personal thought pattern when it comes to dealing with money and wealth. I hope as I go forward with this program and concept it will change. I will have the ability to attract and retain other people who think positive and attract money, but most importantly value relationships and family.

Comment on Who was Adolf Merckle and Why are we Writing about Him? by Judy Boeken

Judy Boeken — Sat, 23 May 2009 01:25:21 +0000

Years ago, I watched as my father’s belief in himself boke down after he lost millions. He becamr paranoid that everyone knew. He felt he wasn’t treated with as much respect…he wasn’t given the best table in a restaurant, it had a draft. He would make a scene.

I lost a couple million dollars during the present crisis. My son asked if I was scared. I said no, that we had enough left to be okay. I am so glad that I know Jim and others, who are helping me to leatn to be more optimistic.

Comment on Who was Adolf Merckle and Why are we Writing about Him? by Rennie Gabriel

Rennie Gabriel — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:46:29 +0000

Merckle’s story can be understood from Jim’s comments in the CNN interview: A person’s identity can be tied to his money and accomplishments. I am fortunate to have met Jim many years ago and today operate within my comfort level. While having lost several million dollars of my net worth due the the real estate meltdown, it has not changed my standard of living. I am healthy, my wife is healthy, my children and grandchildren are healthy. Our relationships are stong and I have many blessings for which I am thankful. The money cannot replace the health or relationships.
Rennie

Comment on River Rafting your Way to Financial Success by RonnaB

RonnaB — Fri, 15 May 2009 03:07:39 +0000

Dr. Gottfurcht,
I so appreciate the helpful information and can’t wait to read your next blog entry! I’ve read many other money- related sites and have found yours to be the most stimulating and relevant to my situation. With today’s economy it is especially difficult for me not to fall into the poverty thinking traps you discuss. When I stop to think about how I am looking at money and realize when those deeply ingrained negative messages are sneaking in to my perspective, I am now better able to do a reframe that keeps me more balanced and positive. I don’t often write comments, but I really want you to know what a wonderful service you are offering to your readers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Comment on The Financial Power of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy by Al Secunda

Al Secunda — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:06:18 +0000

Dr. Gottfurcht -
I love how you focus as much (if not more) on poverty thinking) as you do on prosperity thinking.

Just as an architect would first want to take care of the foundation before putting on the roof: in a similar fashion, I agree whole heartedly with you that we should deal with poverty thinking before prematurely getting distracted and focusing on poverty thinking.

On a similar theme, thanks for your article on “suicide” and on what a man is “worth.” While we all know that we come in with nothing and leave with nothing – apparently somewhere “in the middle” we get stuck.

Once again, BRAVO!!!!
Al Secunda/Author
“The 15 Second Principle”

Comment on The Financial Power of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy by Rennie Gabriel

Rennie Gabriel — Tue, 05 May 2009 00:52:54 +0000

My comments represent a different side of the coin from the blog post that Marc provided. Marc mentioned how his Poverty Thinking of not charging other people enough for his services cost him profits while my comments are about not paying other people enough for their services cost me extra.

Prosperity Thinking:
There was an apartment building in Burbank that I wanted to buy, but it already had an offer on it near the asking price. I was allowed to attend the initial inspection by the selling broker with the new buyer. The new buyer did not show up and I was able to submit an offer.

With a partner, we were able to buy the building, and it needed substantial remodeling work.

Poverty Thinking:
Instead of hiring a regular construction company, we used an unlicensed contractor to save money. While the work was excellent, it took 6 months longer than planned which deferred the rental income we could have been collecting.

What I learned:
Paying a little bit more for professional work would have allowed me to make more money sooner.

Comment on The Financial Power of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy by MikeS

MikeS — Sun, 03 May 2009 03:10:43 +0000

I agree with Andrea that Poverty Thinking can be difficult to ferret out. For me, this type of thinking is typically hidden in one of my blind spots. It’s unusual when I can identify it by myself. What I find that works is to discuss my financial frustrations with someone I trust, like my wife, a close friend, or a psychologist. Another thing that has helped me was taking one of Dr. Gottfurcht’s workshops at UCLA Extension. We did exercises in groups of two or three and provided each other feedback. Again, it came back to someone else being able to see something inside of me better than I could.

I’d be interested to hear what Dr. Gottfurcht has to say about the clues to Poverty Thinking. The first clue for me is usually frustration. Something is not working. I’m not getting what I want or expect. The more overt clue is when I see a repetition of unmet expectations. At that point, the thinking and analyzing begin. This is where I think a series of leading questions or list of traps would be helpful.

Comment on The Financial Power of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy by Andrea B

Andrea B — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:31:32 +0000

I loved reading Mark’s story because it was such an inspiring example of prosperity thinking. The poverty thinking really illustrated that sometimes such thought patterns are very subtle and not so glaring in our daily lives, but still need to be addressed. It seems to me if you had overt clues and subtle clues to poverty thinking, it might be an interesting and helpful area to explore.