The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money
“It’s not that we’re dumb. We’re wired to avoid pain and pursue pleasure and security. It feels right to sell when everyone around us is scared and buy when everyone feels great. It may feel right—but it’s not rational.” —From The Behavior Gap
As a financial planner, Carl Richards grew frustrated watching people he cared about make the same mistakes over and over with their money. They were letting emotion get in the way of making smart financial decisions. He named this phenomenon—the distance between what we should do and what we actually do— “the behavior gap.” Using simple drawings to explain the gap, he found that once people understood it, they started doing much better.Richards’ work now attracts thousands at BehaviorGap.com and at the Bucks Blog at The New York Times. Now in his first book he’ll help you to:
- avoid the tendency to buy high and sell low;
- avoid the pitfalls of generic financial advice;
- invest all of your assets—time and energy as well as savings—more wisely;
- quit spending money and time on things that don’t matter;
- identify your real financial goals;
- start meaningful conversations about money;
- simplify your financial life;
- stop losing money!
“We’ve all made mistakes, but now it’s time to give yourself permission to review those mistakes, identify your personal behavior gaps, and make a plan to avoid them in the future. The goal isn’t to make the ‘perfect’ decision about money every time, but to do the best we can and move forward. . . . Most of the time that’s enough.” —From The Behavior Gap.
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Reviews“Carl Richards is the anti-Jim Cramer. He doesn’t pick stocks, and he doesn’t shout. In wise, calm style, The Behavior Gap teaches us how to rein in the emotional saboteur within us—the voice that leads us to double-down when the market is peaking and to make a panicky exit when stocks are a bargain. Richards shows us that, when it comes to our financial security, slow and steady wins the race.” –Dan Heath | co-author of Made to Stick and Switch “The Behavior Gap throws light on an important question: How can we think more clearly about money and its role in a happy life? With sharp, accessible analysis—and simple, often hilarious, drawings—Carl Richards shows how to shape our behavior to invest, save, and spend to foster greater happiness.” –Gretchen Rubin | author of The Happiness Project “Carl Richards’ deceptively simple sketches in The Behavior Gap will make you laugh, change your relationship with money, and leave you the wealthier for it. This one is bound to be a classic!” –William Bernstein | author of A Splendid Exchange and The Investor's Manifesto “Carl has a knack for showing—gently, and with charts!—that when it comes to money, most of us are idiots. Fortunately, the path to wisdom is simple, if not easy, and in this engaging little book, Carl prods us to master money, rather than letting it master us.” –Laura Vanderkam | author of All the Money in the World “A brilliant, memorable, and fantastically entertaining guide to the ways we often trick ourselves into staying poor. You must read this before you make your next financial decision.” –Zac Bissonnette | author of Debt-Free U “If a picture is worth a thousand words, Carl’s sketches could change a life! He captures the essence of life and money.” –Marty Kurtz | President of the Financial Planning Association
About the AuthorCarl Richards is a certified financial planner and founder of Prasada Capital Management, a portfolio design firm. He contributes to the Bucks blog at The New York Times and is a columnist for Morningstar Advisor. Carl appears regularly on National Public Radio’s Marketplace Money, and is a frequent keynote speaker at financial planning conferences and visual learning events. You can find more of his writing at behaviorgap.com. He lives in Park City, Utah, with his family. |
