Emotional Decisions
October 14, 2009
Even though I’ve written often about the fact that our emotions are deeply involved in our financial lives, I’ve written far less about the opposite. How money permeates our emotional lives.
It’s amazing to me at times the extent to which some of our most important decisions come down to the money – especially those things that we would not consider to be particularly “financial”.
Take for example, the case of a client of mine who lost her husband a few years back. After a long period of mourning, she met another wonderful man and they decided to marry. But there was a problem. She was receiving social security based on her late husband’s earnings. If she married before the age of 60, she lost that income for good.
So, of course, marriage is out of the question for the time being for this couple. They must wait until she turns 60 so as not to lose a vital portion of her income.
Now does the fact that they can’t marry right now mean that they aren’t happy or won’t have a wonderful relationship? Of course not. They’re simply being practical. But nonetheless it’s true that money plays a large part in this very important and highly emotional decision.
Is this a bad thing? I don’t really think so. Their story simply underscores the extent to which money courses its way through our lives. On some level it’s a part of all our dealings. And it colors a lot of our thinking.
Our money decisions are often very emotional. And sometimes, our emotional decisions are highly financial!
