Financial risk behavior shown in men with higher testosterone levels!

ScienceDaily (2008-09-30) -- Two researchers from Harvard jointly led a recent study in which they showed that men with higher testosterone levels invest more money during a risky investment game. The study associates higher testosterone levels with financial risk-taking behavior. LINK

Risk taking gene isolated!

ScienceDaily (2009-02-11) -- A new study provides provocative insights that relate to the question of the day: "How in the world did so many financial titans take such huge risks with out nation's well being?" The new research pinpoints the roles specific variants of the serotonin transporter gene and the dopamine receptor gene play in predicting whether people are more or less likely to take financial risks. LINK

Savings with a Kick

Getting people to save is extremely important for their personal finances and the economic health of society as a whole. The savings rate in the U.S. is currently negative which means on average Americans spend more than they bring in and save. Harvard business school professor Peter Tufano used his research on creating innovative financial products to create a website (http://www.d2dfund.org/) that looks at ways to help low income folks save and invest more. One idea is "prize-linked savings." It would offer people the chance to win prizes for saving their money. No loss and a chance for a gain! This is Kahneman and Tversky's prospect theory in action!

Keeping Track of Your Money...Easy!

People struggle with managing their money. Studies say one of the best ways to control spending and become a better money manager is to keep tabs on how you spend, save and invest your money. Then implementing small changes that yield big results become easy. Technology is helping to make personal money management super easy! I saw an article in the Wall Street Journal this week on Mint.com which is a fantastic website that links with banks to automatically give you the running tab on your spending. Sign up is super fast and you can even look at trends in your spending and compare what you spend to the averages in your city, state or in the U.S. This is a tool that can help make money one less thing to worry about!