Dollars and Sense: Summary Review
This is a summary review of Dollars and Sense containing key details about the book.
What is Dollars and Sense About?
"Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter" is a book written by Dan Ariely and Jeff Kreisler.
In Dollars and Sense, the authors teamed up to delve into the truly irrational world of personal finance, blending humor and behavioral economics to help people understand the psychology behind their financial decisions and show them how they can make better ones. He entertains critical questions such as these:
Summary Points & Takeaways from Dollars and Sense
Some key summary points and takeaways from the book include:
* The authors explain how our brains are wired to make decisions about money, and how this can lead us to make mistakes in spending, saving, and investing.
* They provide evidence from behavioral economics to demonstrate why we are susceptible to these errors, and how they can be corrected.
* Ariely and Kreisler explain how our emotions, biases, and social context can all impact our financial decision-making, and provide strategies for overcoming these obstacles.
* They discuss the psychology of spending, and explain why we often make irrational purchases, such as buying things we don't need or can't afford.
* The authors provide practical tips for making smarter financial decisions, including the importance of setting clear goals, creating a budget, and using tools such as automatic savings plans.
* They also discuss the role of financial education, and explain why it is important to learn about personal finance and investment.
* Overall, "Dollars and Sense" is a thoughtful and accessible guide to improving one's financial decision-making. The authors provide evidence-based insights into the psychology of spending and saving, and offer practical strategies for making smarter financial choices.
Why is paying for things painful?
Why are we comfortable overpaying for something in the present just because we’ve overpaid for it in the past?
Why is it easy to pay $4 for a soda on vacation, when we wouldn’t spend more than $1 on that same soda at our local grocery store?
Who is the author of Dollars and Sense?
Jeff Kreisler is an award-winning comedian and writer who writes for Comedy Central's InDecision 2008 and maintains a syndicated business humor column on Jim Cramer's website TheStreet. In addition to writing, he performs his stand up comedy around the country.
Dan Ariely is an Israeli-American professor and author. He serves as a James B. Duke Professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University.
Book details
- Print length: 288 pages
- Genre: Nonfiction, Psychology, Finance
What are the chapters in Dollars and Sense?
Chapter 1. Don't Bet On It
Chapter 2. Opportunity Knocks
Chapter 3. A Value Proposition
Chapter 4. We Forget That Everything is Relative
Chapter 5. We Compartmentalize
Chapter 6. We Avoid Pain
Chapter 7. We Trust Ourselves
Chapter 8. We Overvalue What We Have
Chapter 9. We Worry About Fairness and Effort
Chapter 10. We Believe in the Magic of Language and Rituals
Chapter 11. We Overvalue Expectations
Chapter 12. We Lose Control
Chapter 13. We Overemphasize Money
Chapter 14. Put Your Money Where Your Mind Is
Chapter 15. Free Advice
Chapter 16. Control Yourself
Chapter 17. It's Us Against Them
Chapter 18. Stop and Think
What is a good quote from Dollars and Sense?
Top Quote: “Happiness too often seems to be less a reflection of our actual happiness and more a reflection of the ways in which we compare ourselves to others.” (Meaning) - Do Design Quotes, Alan Moore
What do critics say?
Here's what one of the prominent reviewers had to say about the book: “If you want to get better at making good financial decisions, read Dollars and Sense.…What the two authors do brilliantly is take behavioral economics and make it accessible.” - Washington Post
* The editor of this summary review made every effort to maintain information accuracy, including any published quotes, chapters, or takeaways. If you're interested in furthering your personal development, I invite you to check out my list of favorite personal development books page. On this page, you'll find a curated list of books that have personally impacted my life, each with a summary and key lessons.
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
