We believe that the game of managing our finances is a logical one where every hit is a rational one based only on the information provided to us by our environment. But whether we are conscious of the fact or not, emotions actually have a huge impact on how we undergo this game and seem to miss our blind emotional swings in the winds of greed.
According to research, emotions like fear, greed, and overconfidence can make people make irrational financial decisions. For instance, fear may push us to liquidate our holdings during a market slump, resulting in substantial losses, while greed may push us to take on excessive risk in the hopes of quickly turning a profit.
On the other hand, pleasant feelings like satisfaction and thankfulness can influence our financial choices by motivating us to live within our means and refrain from taking on excessive debt.
Let’s take a look on how emotions affect financial judgement more closely and how we may apply this information to make wiser financial choices.
The Role of fear
As the movie dune said, “Fear is a mind killer”. Money being the substance that powers our survival we are very fearful towards it. When we are grasped by our fears, we frequently consider the dangers and drawbacks of a certain financial transaction or investment rather than its possible benefits.
Due to loss aversion, we may become more concerned with preventing losses than with achieving profits. For instance, fear may make us sell off our investments at a loss during a market slump rather than holding onto them and waiting for the market to recover.
In other situations, anxiety may also make us completely avoid investing, which results in lost chances for development and wealth building.
The Role of Over-Confidence
Another strong emotion that can significantly affect financial decision-making is greed. When we are greedy, we often overlook the possible hazards of a financial decision or investment in favour of concentrating only on the potential rewards.
This can result in making rash decisions and taking on excessive risk, such as buying speculative stocks or piling up debt in the hopes of turning a rapid profit.
While greed can occasionally result in short-term high waves of success, it can also bring in the tsunamis of long-term losses and financial instability.
The Role of Contentment and Gratitude
The emotions of the dark triads pertain to a a bad influence on financial decision-making, other emotions can also have a good influence.
For instance, contentment and thankfulness might motivate us to live within our means, refrain from taking on excessive debt, and make more deliberate and informed financial decisions.
We are more likely to make choices that are consistent with our personality and long term goals if we are able to concentrate on what we already have in our hand and express thankfulness for the resources to the limited abundance we are with. Gratitude brings in optimism and clarity that helps us see our lives in a more broader domain and then enables us to uplift our conditions.
How to Make Better Financial Decisions?
So what can we do to go the right paths without the temptations of the devil ?
It’s crucial to first and foremost understand the part that emotions play in our financial decisions. Knowing when we are feeling afraid, greedy, or overconfident allows us to take action to lessen these feelings and make more deliberate choices. This may entail asking for counsel or direction from a financial expert, taking the time to investigate and evaluate the potential risks and rewards of a certain investment or financial decision, and engaging in self-reflection and mindfulness exercises to keep us grounded and centred.
Establishing defined financial objectives and standards that support our long-term aims and beliefs is also crucial. We might make more mature decisions that are more consistent with our financial goals and less likely to in a drive fueled by our emotions by having a clear statement of understanding of what we hope to accomplish with our money in due course of time.
Creating a financial plan that details our income, spending, and savings objectives as well as a plan for handling our investments and debt can also be beneficial. This strategy can act as a road map for our financial choices, assisting us in maintaining our concentration and averting rash choices motivated by our emotions.
To keep us grounded and centred in the face of financial stress and uncertainty, it might be good to practise mindfulness and self-care. This may entail engaging in regular exercise, mindfulness exercises, or other stress-reduction techniques that can help us control our stress levels and maintain our attention on our long-term financial objectives.
Conclusion
It is important to give considerable thought and attention to the complicated and multidimensional subject of how emotions affect financial decision-making. While emotions like satisfaction and appreciation can have a good effect by motivating us to live within our means and make more careful and studied financial decisions, emotions like fear, greed, and overconfidence can also result in bad financial decision-making.
At the end we can make better financial decisions that are in line with our long-term objectives and values by being emotionally aware of the impact that emotions have on us, our brain and our financial decisions, setting clear financial goals and thoughts, creating a financial plan in respect to our environment and current conditions, practicing mindfulness, and taking care of our body and mind.