money and emotions | Kahler Financial

Feelings about Student Loan Forgiveness are Complicated

Oct 2, 2023

I appear monthly on South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s “In The Moment” program, hosted by Lori Walsh. In a recent segment, she asked me to address the emotions around student loan forgiveness, especially for those who had no debt or did not qualify for such programs....

Toxic Positivity Can Harm You Financially

Jul 31, 2023

Positive thinking about money can be beneficial. It can also be harmful if it leads us to suppress our emotions or avoid financial realities. This dark side of being positive is described in a Psychotherapy Today article referencing a book titled Toxic Positivity by...

What We Think We’d Do With $1 Million, and What We’d Probably Do

May 1, 2023

What would you do with a million-dollar windfall? This question was the topic of a survey in a March 28, 2023, article by Jessica Whitehouse in onlinegambling.com, “This is how Americans would spend $1,000,000 in lottery winnings.” Before I read past the headline, I...

Sound Financial Decisions Rely on Balanced Media Diet

Oct 24, 2022

I recently asked an investor who had a history of making poor financial decisions to send me a list of his sources for news that impacted his financial decisions. They were all extreme in their political bent, with very low to mixed probability of being factual. There...

Couples With Income Inequality, Part 2

Oct 10, 2022

Last week I described three common dynamics in couples where one partner is much wealthier than the other. Those are the “Funder and Beneficiary” where the wealthy partner pays for everything, the “Proportional Spenders” who contribute based on their income, and the...