Why optimists are better with money
Photo: H. Armstrong Roberts/Getty Images Some depressing news for optimists: We are delusional. Things generally take longer, cost more, and have a higher chance of going awry than we think they will, and there’s not much we can do about it. We should probably know better than to cling to our unrealistic expectations, but somehow we never learn. This persistent phenomenon afflicts about 80 percent of humans, according to Tali Sharot, a neuroscientist at University College London.
As an optimist myself, I can personally attest that my “it’ll work out” mentality has cost me more money than I care to think about. When you add up all cab fares from when I’m running later than expected or stuff I bought because I believed it was a “good investment,” it’s a lot. I consistently spend more money than I think I will, and it’s gotten me into some tight spots.
The key, says researcher Michelle Gielan, is finding the sweet spot of “rational optimism” — a balance of expecting good things, making a realistic assessment of the present, and perhaps most importantly, believing that our behavior can improve our circumstances. She likens it to wearing a seat belt: Not doing so might be the more optimistic choice, technically, but it would also be stupid.
But it’s precisely those hard moments when a “positive attitude” seems Pollyannaish, especially for people grappling with student loans and stagnant wages and the very real possibility that they’ll be in debt for the rest of their lives. When I pointed out to Gielan that prescribing optimism for these situations was a little bit like bringing a knife to a gun fight — or, more literally, a $5 bill to a $1.56 trillion problem — she was quick to agree.
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