Friday, Sept. 11
Posted 2 p.m. EDT
When it comes to spending habits, it seems as though opposites attract.
Professors at the Wharton School of Finance and Northwestern University surveyed married adults and concluded that they have opposing attitudes toward their emotional reactions to spending. In other words, spenders are attracted to savers, and vice versa.
A separate study by George Loewenstein, professor of economics and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, suggests that those who find parting with their cash to be a less than joyous experience don't care for that characteristic in themselves, and look for someone who has an easier time with spending.
Yet, as human nature often proves, what people do and what they say are not the same. When interviewed, single people will announce a desire to connect with someone who has the same approach to money. Loewenstein's study notes that the disconnect between what respondents say they want, and what they do is unfortunate, as conflict in marriage is often incited by money issues.
But while spenders may be looking for a check on their profligacy with money in a tightwad spouse, neither is likely to change their financial DNA, Loewenstein concludes.
"We have been looking for any reason in people's pasts that could make them into a tightwad or a spendthrift," he says. "We haven't found it yet. Perhaps it is genetic."
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