Why we make bad financial choices -- even when we know better | Your Money and Your Mind

Transcriber:

"Always wear sunscreen."

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

「一定要擦防曬。」

"Eat a balanced diet."

「飲食要均衡。」

"A penny saved is a penny earned."

「省一分錢就是賺一分錢。」

You probably all learned these lessons as a kid,

各位可能小時候就學過上述這些了，

maybe from your parents,

也許是向父母學的，

or if you grew up in the '80s, on the public service announcements

如果你在八○年代長大，

也許是向每集《大英雄》卡通 最後的公益宣導學的。

at the end of every episode of the G.I. Joe cartoons.

But chances are, despite knowing this,

但，很有可能，儘管知道這些，

you still stepped outside without putting on sunscreen,

你外出時仍然沒有擦防曬，

devoured an entire bag of chips in one go

一次就狼吞虎嚥吃掉一包洋芋片，

or spent way more of your paycheck than you anticipated.

或者花掉大半薪水，遠超過預期。

So why is that?

為什麼會這樣？

[Your Money and Your Mind] with Wendy De La Rosa

〔你的錢和你的腦〕 〔溫蒂·迪·拉·羅斯主持〕

A few years ago, two Yale professors coined the term "G.I. Joe fallacy"

幾年前，兩位耶魯教授創造了

「大英雄謬誤」這個詞 來描述這個現象。

to describe this very phenomenon.

It's the mistaken idea that knowing is half the battle.

它是種誤解，誤以為 「知道」就已經贏了一半。

But as it turns out, in most situations,

但，結果發現，在大部分的情況中，

just knowing something is not nearly enough

光是知道某件事，

一點也不足以讓你去實踐它。

for you to put it into practice.

Information doesn't always change behavior.

資訊不見得都會改變行為。

As a behavioral scientist helping families make better financial decisions,

身為協助家庭改善 財務決策的行為科學家，

I've seen people struggle to save money,

我曾經見過有人很難存錢， 很難減少開銷，

to cut back on their expenses or to manage their debt,

或很難管理債務，

even after they've taken a financial literacy class.

即使他們去上了財務能力課也一樣。

And the reality is that people fundamentally know

而現實是，大家基本上都知道

what they need to do to improve their financial situation.

他們需要做什麼 才能改善他們的財務狀況。

We all do.

我們都知道。公式很簡單：

The equation is simple: they need to save more and spend less.

他們需要多存點錢、少花點錢。

But the thing is, that's just really hard to do.

重點是，就是很難做到。

It's easier said than done,

說的比做的容易，

and I've been in this boat as well.

我也有過這樣的經歷。

So for example, I had a magazine subscription

比如，我有訂一本雜誌，

that I knew I should just cancel.

我知道我應該取消訂閱。

I never read the magazine,

我從來沒有翻過那雜誌，

and every month, money was coming out of my checking account,

每個月，錢都不斷 從我的支票帳戶支出，

and every time I reviewed my budget, I saw it,

每當我檢視我的預算時， 都會看到這一項，

I knew I had to cancel it, but I didn't.

我知道我該取消訂閱， 但我就是沒做。

It took me two years to cancel that magazine subscription.

我花了兩年才取消訂閱那本雜誌。

And I'm sure I'm not alone.

我很確定不只有我。

You probably have some type of subscription

你可能也有某種 你知道該取消的長期訂閱，

that you know you should cancel.

So the critical piece in all of this is to get rid of this belief

所以，這裡的重點就是不要再堅信著

that financial security is just a problem that we can teach away.

財務安全不是個 能只用教導就解決的問題。

In the US, for example,

比如，在美國，

we spend nearly 700 million dollars every year on financial education programs,

我們每年會花近七億美金

做財務教育計畫，

yet a team of researchers have found

但，有個研究團隊發現，

that these programs explained only 0.1 percent

這些計畫僅能解釋 0.1% 的

of the variance in financial behaviors.

財務行為變異。

Not zero, but pretty close to it.

不是零，但非常接近零了。

Meanwhile, 20 states mandate financial literacy classes in high school,

同時，有二十州都規定 要在高中開設財務能力課程，

但，研究發現，除非 這些計畫有很好的導入，

but studies have found that unless these programs are well-implemented,

they are unlikely to have any effect on a student's future credit score

不然它們都很難影響 學生未來的信用評分

or their likelihood to invest.

或去做投資的可能性。

A more significant predictor of how well you manage your finances

你能把財務管理得多好， 有個更顯著的預測因子，

is your general ability to do math.

就是你的一般算數能力。

From all of this, I've learned that behavior change

我從這一切當中學到，

行為改變不是靠教育來達成。

is not an educational pursuit.

It's an environmental one.

是靠環境。

If you are struggling,

如果你很難做到，

it's not because there's something fundamentally wrong with you.

並不是你本身有什麼問題。

It's most likely because there is something wrong

比較可能是你周圍的環境出了問題。

with how your environment is set up.

Look around you.

看看你身邊。

The cues to spend money have gotten smarter,

要你花錢的暗示變聰明了、

faster and more efficient.

變快速了，也更有效了。

Targeted ads are becoming more personalized,

定向廣告變得更個人化，

corporate content is becoming more engaging,

企業提供的內容變得更有吸引力，

and everything around you is focusing on spending.

你周遭的一切都在強調花錢。

So let's change that.

咱們來改變這一點。

你可以重塑你的環境 以及你和它互動的方式，

You can reshape your environment and how you interact with it,

and I can guide you through it.

而我能在過程中引導你。

Over the course of this series,

隨著這個影集的過程，

I'll take you through a step-by-step look

我會帶各位一步一步去看

at how you can change your environment

你能如何改變你的環境，

and regain control of your finances.

重新掌控你的財務。

At the end of every episode,

在每一集的尾聲，

I'll share practical tips based on research

我會分享以研究為基礎的秘訣，

on how to spend less and save more today --

說明今天能如何少花錢、多存錢——

not tomorrow, but today.

不是明天，今天就開始。

And your future self will thank you.

未來的你會很感謝你。