Last week, I described stage three (preparation) of the stages of change model. Stage three is when people intend to take action soon to change their money habits, but they need to get all of their ducks in a row and to make a specific plan of action. What are the strategies or self-challenges you [...]

I’ve been walking you through the stages of change, or the stages that mark your readiness to transform a habit. This week, I introduce stage three, which is called preparation. It is when a person intends to take action soon, but she needs to get all of her ducks in a row and to make [...]

Last week, I described how you can get stuck in the second stage of change (contemplation). In this stage, you can think of multiple reasons why you should change a given money habit. But you can also think of multiple reasons why you don’t want to. Procrastination and feelings of ambivalence are common. What do [...]

This post is the third in a series examining the “stages of change,” or the stages that mark your readiness to transform a habit. Last week, I presented the first stage of change (precontemplation). This week, I introduce stage two, which is called contemplation. It is when a person feels strongly pulled in two different [...]

Last week I suggested that if you have decided to change one of your money habits, it is helpful to know your starting point, also known as your current stage of change (Prochaska, Norcross, & DiClemente). If you know your stage of change, it will help you design appropriate challenges or “homework” for yourself. These [...]

Which of the following people is most likely to succeed in completing a marathon? Person A believes that if you can walk somewhere, walking beats running hands-down, every single time. Person B can think of a million reasons why participating in a marathon would be a good idea, but he can think of an equal [...]

Aristotle knew a thing or two about the philosophy of “fake it ‘til you make it.” In his day, though, he didn’t call it that. Instead, he explained that we become virtuous by first putting virtues into action, we become disciplined by first exercising good self-control, and we become courageous by first performing acts of [...]

Research by Oettingen (European Review of Social Psychology, 2012) suggests that if we’re working on building a healthy new habit, we might benefit from the “WOOP” exercise. Although it sounds like a fancy new dance step, it’s really just a quick mental strategy that helps you to predict what problems might get in your way [...]

For many, it is a time of preparation: for the holidays, for a new year, and for new steps on the journey toward financial transformation. Many people are thinking about setting money goals for 2013: saving more, spending less, or starting a new type of investment. When we do succeed at reaching a personal finance [...]

The researchers and great thinkers who study anxiety have an expression that “whatever we resist persists.” In other words, whatever we push away from our mental experience tends to stay the same or even get worse over time, instead of getting better. For example, if we have a conflict or dispute with an important person [...]