Archive for October, 2007

Rapid Inventory Turnover: How Clothing Sales Are Going Away. The Problem of Using Money Tips

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

Every Tuesday is a Game Theory article at Mind Your Decisions. I discovered a money tip before I moved to college. I was living in Illinois and it was a chilly September. But I actually needed more summer clothes because I was moving to warmer California weather at Stanford. Since ...

Why Good Personal Finance Ideas Fail

Thursday, October 25th, 2007

Why am I not happy with my finances? I hear this question from many people. Some people blame not enough education, and schools are responding by increasing financial education classes. But will more information help? I used to think so, but here is a story that really got me thinking. My friend ...

How Can You Use Mechanism Design to Improve Your Finances? It’s as Easy as Splitting a Coke

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007

Every Tuesday is a Game Theory article at Mind Your Decisions. I have to thank my fifth grade math teacher for unintentionally introducing me to game theory. The game theory is hidden in the following extra-credit problem that he asked us: My mother would often give a can of Coke to me ...

How Quickly Will Your Money Grow? The Rule of 72: What it is and Why I Never Use it

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

The Doubling Question: If your money grows at a certain rate, how long will it take to double? You can surprisingly answer this question without doing much math. All you need to know is the Rule of 72, which states: For instance, if an investment returns 6% annually, it will take 12 ...

How Can You Stop Free Riders and Games of Chicken? Try Changing the Game

Tuesday, October 16th, 2007

Every Tuesday is a Game Theory article at Mind Your Decisions. Here is some advice you can take to the office: if you aren’t winning the game you are playing, consider changing the game. If you find yourself yelling at people, please stop and think about why people are acting that way. ...