Mind Over Money

Mind Over Money

The Psychology of Cash and How to Use It Better

Written by: Hammond, Claudia

On a summer evening in 1994, the two members of the band KLF burned £1 million in £50 notes in a barn on the Isle of Jura. They filmed themselves tossing the bills into the fire, and made the story public. The reaction amazed them: this act of nihilism caused a public outpouring of rage. They received death threats. And yet, if the band members had squandered their wealth away on designer clothes and sports cars, would anyone have cared?

We constantly make assumptions about money. We confuse it with morality. We know we need it, and we tend to want more of it, but what we do not always appreciate are the ways it affects our minds, and emotions, and can even skew our perceptions.

Mind Over Money is about what money does to us. In delightfully accessible language, Hammond explores the power of money and shows how psychology and neuroscience are providing us with some extraordinary tools for making better decisions about the way we use money.

On a summer evening in 1994, the two members of the band KLF burned £1 million in £50 notes in a barn on the Isle of Jura. They filmed themselves tossing the bills into the fire, and made the story public. The reaction amazed them: this act of nihilism caused a public outpouring of rage. They received death threats. And yet, if the band members had squandered their wealth away on designer clothes and sports cars, would anyone have cared?

We constantly make assumptions about money. We confuse it with morality. We know we need it, and we tend to want more of it, but what we do not always appreciate are the ways it affects our minds, and emotions, and can even skew our perceptions.

Mind Over Money is about what money does to us. In delightfully accessible language, Hammond explores the power of money and shows how psychology and neuroscience are providing us with some extraordinary tools for making better decisions about the way we use money.

Published By House of Anansi Press Inc — May 28, 2016
Specifications 352 pages | 5.5 in x 8.5 in
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Written By Claudia Hammond is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, and psychology lecturer. She is the author of Emotional Rollercoaster: A Journey through the Science of Feelings, which was published in six territories.
Written By
Claudia Hammond is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, and psychology lecturer. She is the author of Emotional Rollercoaster: A Journey through the Science of Feelings, which was published in six territories.

“Claudia Hammond is the ideal tour guide for this hugely enjoyable (if sometimes alarming) journey through the strange psychology of spending and saving. Mind Over Money is both a fascinating exploration of the ways money messes with our heads, and a practical guidebook for how to avoid getting fleeced — whether by others or our own irrational minds.” —Oliver Burkeman