J.C.’s Money Blog

Oh man, now that I am back in the States, I can feed my bad habit of watching the Suze Orman Show on CNBC. Her advice, while generaly very sound financial advice, is completely predictable and she delivers it in the most annoying, obnoxious fashion, which is kind of like listening to someone scratch their fingernails down a chalkboard. Every time she calls a caller “girlfriend”, I want to poke my eyes out with a pitch fork.

So why do I subject myself to this everytime I possibly can? Because of the callers! Its absolutely terrible, but I love hearing how people have totally hosed up their finances and have huge consumer debt. Its unfortunate, and I am dissapointed in myself for having such a horrendous appetite for schadenfreude, but maybe coming out and admitting it is the first step to becoming a better person.

So, to anyone out there who has lived beyond their means at the expense of their future and called to tell Suze about it, this is a heartfelt thank you, for making me feel better about myself.

To my credit, I am not the only one that feels this way. Research shows that the actual amount people are rewarded is much less important than the relative amount people are rewarded more than their peers. I.e., people in general are more excited about receiving a $20 bonus when peers only get $10, than they would be about receiving $30 if their peers also receive $30.