Insights from Psychology: Improving Your Relationship with Money

A conversation with a hairdresser can be very clear. And when I went to the trim earlier this year, the gossip was especially good. Our chat was close enough for Christmas to give a gift, so when he cut it out, my stylist had a juicy anecdote. One customer complained that she was tired of giving £20 to a gift for her aunt, despite her sister trying to buy a £1 million home. Another is described as “a little thin” from her son. And the third person felt physically ill by the amount his family spent on his young nie.

Money, money, money. We have a very different attitude towards cash, but taboos are difficult to talk about. As a result, it can drive the wedge into an otherwise happy relationship. This is exacerbated by the expansion of financial division: An analysis from charities Equality Foundation Between 2011 and 2019, the wealth gap between the UK's poorest households has increased by 50%, indicating that the situation is even worse in the US. But psychologists are just beginning to truly grasp why money is such an emotional topic for us: meaning and belief, rather than simply the need to pay the bill.

Now they unleash everything from when and when our ideas about money are developing to what constitute a healthy or unhealthy relationship with things. Psychologists may be behind the party, but some of their findings are surprising.