We may not see the connection between our mental health and our wallets, but a new study suggests that sad people make poorer financial decisions compared to their happier counterparts.

The reason, according to Jennifer Lerner of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and colleagues Ye Li and Elke Weber of Columbia University who published their study in the Psychological Science journal last year, is that sad people exhibit what’s known as “present bias,” meaning they tend to value the present over the future, choosing immediate gratification and ignoring the greater gains associated with waiting.

What do you think my answer is to the above question? Does the screenshot below give you an indication? It better!

I cringe anytime someone asks me this question. Don’t do it. If you need a couple of other options, watch the video or read below.

Whatever you do, don’t use your 401k money to pay off your credit cards.

Can you imagine carrying a credit card balance for 35 years? As crazy as that may sound, that’s exactly what I did. I was 19 years old when I was introduced to credit card applications.

I was looking for a special gift for a special someone. After filling out an in-store application at Sears, I was instantly approved. Imagine that. I charged a sewing machine that cost $169.

That was the beginning of a lifetime of credit card payments.

I’ve got a question for you. When you hear the word “budget” do you cringe? I can’t say that I’ve ever heard this word and thought happy thoughts. Why am I telling you this? To let you know that if a hatred for budgeting is your mental barrier to paying off debt, you’re not alone! [...]