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Key Points & Memorable Quotes - 

“What makes people tick when it comes to money?” 2:54

“Your viewpoint of money and your relationship to money is very often already shaped by your childhood, by your parents, by whomever was in your direct social circle when you were growing up.” 4:06

“A spendthrift as the name kind of indicates, is someone who gets a lot of pleasure from spending money.” 10:13

“The tightwads, so people who have essentially the scrooges.” 10:43

“If you are on a budget, and you know what your triggers are, it’s probably best to avoid your triggers.” 14:54

“Behavioral science very often is the opposite of marketing.” 16:45

“You actually release most dopamine when you think of having the thing just before you have it, like you actually predict how much pleasure a thing is going to give you.” 20:34

“For your chance of survival, it’s not good to be in the bottom of the pack.” 38:19

“There is downward social comparison, meaning that you compare yourself to people who are worse off than you, but people tend to only really do this as a coping mechanism.” 41:03

“Find out why you have a constant need to buy things.” 44:15 

“The more that we learn to love ourselves, the better we relate to other people.” - Wendy @ 45:30

Guest Bio - Merle van den Akker, PhD is a behavioral scientist working in the financial services. Both in her work and her academic research she studies how people think about and handle their money, and why they make the (financial) choices they do. She is a frequent writer and speaker on the topic of the intersection between behavioral science and personal finance. Merle is also a strong advocate for interdisciplinary and mixed-methods research, always approaching people from a human-centered perspective.

Before moving to Australia she obtained her PhD, MA and MSc from the Warwick Business School (UK), focusing on Behavioural Science and Mixed Methods Research, respectively.

Show Notes - 

0:00 - Coming Up on ‘What I Meant to Say’

0:24 - WIMTS Intro

0:46 - Welcome to Merle

1:31 - What Interested You in Behavioral Science?

3:10 - Helping People Form a Better Relationship with Money

5:59 - Communicating with Children How to Have A Better Relationship with Money

9:31 - How Does Personality & Mindset Play into Financial Decisions?

13:09 - How Can People Find the Middle Ground in Finances?

16:39 - The Role of Behavioral Science Plays in Marketing to Consumers

19:45 - To Buy or Not to Buy, that is the Question

24:13 - Health Implications of Stress from Spending Decisions

30:34 - Discussion on the Risk of Spending Money

36:24 - What Role Does Self-Worth Play in Financial Decision-Making?

43:37 - One Piece of Advice to Your Younger Self

45:37 - Where Can People Find You?

46:38 - Thank You & Closing

Links & Where to Find Merle -

twitter:https://twitter.com/MoneyMindMerle

linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/merle-van-den-akker-phd-40a8b811b/

blog:https://www.moneyonthemind.org/

book:https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Doing-PhD-ebook/dp/B0C3RFJDGF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=309UIA99CTVPC&keywords=the+ultimate+guide+to+doing+a+PhD&qid=1683436249&sprefix=the+ultimate+guide+to+doing+a+phd%2Caps%2C290&sr=8-1