Sarah Newcomb – The Psychology of Money and Achieving Financial Goals

Erik and Zarak are joined by Dr. Sarah Newcomb, behavioral economist at Morningstar, an investment research firm committed to improving the wellbeing of investors through the use of research and software. Sarah’s personal passion and professional goal is to bring independent financial advice to populations that are currently underserved by the financial services industry, namely: women, low/moderate income households, and younger investors. Sarah discusses the psychology of money and explores why smart people can make poor financial decisions. She outlines techniques to change one’s thinking, such as distinguishing between a “need” and a “strategy” to meet that need. A person may not need a car. What they need is transportation, and a car is one of several strategies to meet that need – all of which come along with a different price tag. Zarak doesn’t necessarily need to go to Starbucks every day. What he needs is to get out of the office for 15 minutes every afternoon, and Starbucks is just one strategy to meet that need. Sarah invokes Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to help us reevaluate what our true needs are, and why that can help us financially.