Money Method: Financial Habits

(Dr. Dan Geller)

Guest Post: Dr. Dan Geller the Behavioral Finance Scientist

People will repeat the same six financial habits each time the economy goes through a cycle.

A breakthrough study in financial behavior, or Behavioralogy, shows that people repeat their financial behavior in a highly predictable manner based on the state of the economy. The study, conducted by Dr. Dan Geller - a behavioral finance scientist and the author of Money Anxiety, found that people repeated their financial behavior in each of the economic cycles during the last 50 years.

The study found that people "orient" themselves to the state of the economy by repeating six financial-behavior patterns - three related to their spending and three related to their savings. Each financial behavior pattern corresponds to the stage in the economic cycle, i.e. recession, recovery , expansion and decline. Here are the six financial habits:

Fashion Friday: Vintage Purse Sighting

(Kim's Vintage Purse)

You see this leather hobo purse on this woman’s shoulder? Well, I fell in love with it. Unfortunately, it’s not available in stores anymore. Turns out, Kim bought it at an estate sale for $5 somewhere in Florida.

I’ve never gone to an estate sale because I always thought the items were going to be priced way out of my range. Garage/yard sales are more my thing. I try to get up early on a Saturday morning and stroll until I saw the signs. "Yard Sale: At 123 Elm Street." I would also hit the thrift stores and vintage shops. However, I never came across any purse that I fell in love with like the one Kim now carries.

Empty-Nest Chronicles: Financial Literacy 101

A Money Method & Empty-Nest Chronicles Special

(Photo Credit: TC's Views)

My son has officially graduated from high school and is on his way to college in August. But before I send him off to soar around the adult world I took him to our local bank to open a checking and savings account in his name.

We got a financial literacy lesson about credit scores, identity protection and Regulation D - a federal regulation that limits the number and type of withdrawals from savings, or Money Market Accounts to six per month for each account.

Credit Score Discussion

My son had many questions about credit scores for our banker.

Misty Copeland Breaks Barriers One Pirouette at a Time

Misty Copeland appeared on my radar in September 2014 after I heard her story on National Public Radio. Morning Edition host, Steve Inskeep, had a captivating conversation with the ballerina about her book Firebird and what it’s like to be a Black ballerina.

Related Story: Misty Copeland on Broadening 'Beauty' And Being Black In Ballet

On June 30, 2015, Copeland popped up again on my radar. Turns out that the 32 year-old dancer broke barriers and made history. Copeland was named principal dancer at the American Ballet Theater Company. She is the first Black-American female to hold this position.

As Copeland was pursuing her passion naysayers told her that her body was too bulky for ballet. She was told at the age of 13 that she was too old to continue her goals as a dancer. It makes me wonder what Copeland’s cynics are saying now. I bet they are wondering how this bulky, Black-American woman was promoted to principal dancer in her 30s.

It just goes to show that perseverance will get you exactly where you want to be in life. What are you waiting for?

Take a listen to Copeland’s one-to-one with Steve Inskeep, which initially aired on Sept. 9, 2014.