Hot-cold-empathy gap

Have you ever asked yourself this: How can I control myself when I feel the irresistible need to break my rules about how to invest in the stock market? That question pertains to the “hot-cold-empathy gap”, where we say to ourselves in a calm…

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Neglect of prior base rates effect

tomorrow starts now; start an ETF savings plan

This is the tendency to fail to incorporate prior known probabilities which are pertinent to the decision at hand. Caution: Don’t read on if you are 40 years of age and above! Here’s an interesting question for the rest of you: Why aren’t more young people…

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Others are just like me

We have the tendency to overestimate the degree to which others agree with us; therein making this—tendency—just another of those predictable patterns of thought and behavior that lead us to draw incorrect conclusions. Psychologists call this the False Consensus Bias. Let me ask you: “Is agreeing…

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The good ol’ gut feeling

We sometimes tend to think that ideas and feelings arising from our intuition are essentially superior to those achieved by reason and logic. As such, intuition—the good old “gut feeling”—has come to be idealized as the Noble Savage of the mind, fearlessly cutting through…

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Whatever you earn – live within your means

Now, that is a no-brainer! Others might even call this a “know-brainer”. Still, I know from personal experience that this principle is not easy to apply; nevertheless, it is worth your utmost attention as it is the key to growing your savings. People are always talking about character,…

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