I have spent over 25 years watching people make decisions about buying and financing their homes. Having watched so many people in action, I especially enjoy writing about the way they gather information, evaluate it, and make decisions. I used to wonder why so many people came to my office, told me what they wanted, yet ultimately settled in on some other loan. The reason was flawed decision-making.
In fact, one of the most satisfying parts of my career has been getting my clients "straightened out." Makes me feel as if I really do some good. They had to unlearn what drove them to choose something that was usually wrong, then we’d through a process to get them what they needed, a loan that would help them achieve their goals.
It’s no different with people when they make investment decisions. A stockbroker friend told me once, "Intelligent Investing is an oxymoron." Most stockbrokers have told me that their number two job was keeping people from doing stupid things.
Over the past few years I have written a number of articles about this topic, drawing when I could on research that found links in what was happening in peoples’ brains as they made decisions. I wish I had done a lot more work because if I did, I might have written Your Money and Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich . But I didn’t. Jeffrey Zweig did.
A review in Publishers Weekly said it pretty well.
"Our brains are pretty self-deceptive, it turns out: we have difficulty admitting our lack of knowledge about finances; we overestimate our own wisdom and performance; and our preference for mistakes of action rather than inaction often leads us to irrational investment decisions."
A book like this will help the modest number of investors or homeowners who might read it, but I think that its impact will be greater with investment counselors and mortgage loan officers. It will be a great resource for those who want to help their clients make better decisions.
It’s refreshing to see a book like this come along. For those who want to learn more, click on the link.
http://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Brain-Science-Neuroeconomics/dp/074327668X
Randy Johnson Randy is a Credit.com contributor and seasoned mortgage expert. He writes about home buying, mortgage laws and real estate finance issues. He has financed over $1 billion in properties, is the author of How to Save Thousands of Dollars on your Home Mortgage and he is a feature columnist for Savvy Borrower.
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