Mind Over Money Book Summary I Claudia Hammond

September 23, 2023May 24, 2021 by Muzammil

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Book – Mind Over Money (Summary)

Author – Claudia Hammond

Genre – Self-help Book

Published in – 2016

When it comes to money, have you ever thought of the following questions?

1) How do you feel when money is mentioned?

2) Do you feel money is necessary or having it more will make you evil?

3) How do you view people having more money than you?

4) Are you confident you’ll always have enough, or do you worry you might get worse financially?

“Perhaps the only thing we know for certain about views on money is that we all have our own, and we all think we’re right, so it’s little wonder that it sparks arguments or that those arguments can be hard to resolve.”

In Mind Over Money, Claudia Hammond clarifies these questions with the help of more than 200 experiments conducted on the subject.

To allow money to help us lead a good life and create a good society (which it can do), we need a better understanding of our psychological relationship with it.

About The Author –

Claudia Hammond is an award-winning broadcaster, author, and psychology lecturer. In her work, she shares how psychological and medical research can help us in our everyday lives, whether through radio, TV, podcasts, public events, or books.

Claudia is the presenter of several podcasts and radio shows, including All in the Mind on BBC Radio 4, which covers psychology, Neuroscience & mental health, and the weekly global health show Health Check on BBC World Service.

About The Book –

we are profoundly psychological beings. Our minds make us what we are, and money is a mental construct that doesn’t exist beyond our ideas but on which we now depend for most of the things we need to live.

To allow money to help us lead a good life and create a good society (which it can do), we need a better understanding of our psychological relationship with it.

The author claims that Mind over money is not about what to do with or how to make money but about our relationship with it. Claudia, without judging money, shares her view of our relationship with money and how to make it work for us.

A couple of Lessons That I Loved From The Book.

1) The Power of Pocket Money –

With various studies and research, Claudia makes a fantastic point about the power of pocket money. Size of allowance, guidance/suggestion of how it should be spent, accountability, and having it earned through various chores will determine children’s relationships and success with money as they grow.

2) The Cash or Card –

Has it ever happened to you that you spent more because you could pay by card and didn’t have to pay in cash?

Claudia refers to a study that showed people often spend less when paying cash than on a card. We still vague hard cash more than cashless money. Hence, it is an excellent strategy to spend in cash as much as possible to refrain from indulging in excess.

3) Mental Accounts –

Claudia explains why we spend more on some items when we are out on a trip than at a regular supermarket for the same things.

She supports this idea with research that we have different mental accounts like daily necessities, small luxuries, culture and education, personal fortune, security, clothes and make-up, going out, pocket money, and raising the standard of living.

Spending more on wine when dining out seems okay, as that goes from ‘going out budget,’ but more when buying from supermarkets to consume at home.

4) Endowment Effect –

It means we tend to value things we already own more highly. We endow them with a more excellent value. It happens even when we have only held the items for a very short time.

That’s why car test drive, free trials in various courses, and online streaming platforms has such an appeal.

5) Confirmation Bias –

Confirmation bias is where people look for evidence to back up what they already think is true.

In one experiment, experts were told the wine was a rare vintage. The look of the bottle and label confirmed it. So, when they opened the bottle, they tasted what they expected to taste. The confirmation bias was at play. The experts looked for information to back up their expectations. They were at a fine wine auction, and you generally get fine wine at a fine wine auction,

6) Materialism; Good or Bad –

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi proposed two types of materialism. There’s the good kind, called ‘instrumental materialism,’ which involves using material things to fulfill your values and goals.

Then there’s the wrong kind, called terminal materialism’, where you use your money and material possessions to improve your social status and generate envy in others.

7) Poverty of Thinking –

When it comes to money, many of us consider rich people competent but lacking in warmth, so our prevalent feeling is envy.

And then there are people with low incomes. If we consider that they lack warmth and competence, the result is disgust.

Studies show how our financial situation affects our intelligence and decision-making ability. In times of crisis or lack of money, we often make decisions that we wouldn’t make or think otherwise if we were financially well-off.

I have also created a video of a few quotes from the book – I hope you like it. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel – Myread4change.

Conclusion –

You will surely like this book if you love reading books with research and data. Even though it is a little lengthy, given your interest in money and psychology, it can be a good read.

You may also consider reading The Psychology of Money on a similar line of reading. I am sure you’ll love it.

I hope this book summary of some help. Please leave your thoughts in the comments. I would love to hear from you.

Thank you for your time.

Muzammil