There’s been a lot of buzz around the internets lately about how TOUCHING money helps make your pain go away. Something about money giving people a sense of self-sufficiency and making them less likely to ask for help.
I’m not sure how you go about proving that, but it seems to be working for a certain Kathleen Vohs – a consumer psychologist at the University of Minnesota. Here’s a clip from their website:
“In her study, Vohs had one group of subjects count cash and another slips of paper. Soon after, she asked all the subjects to dip their hands in very hot water and rate the pain they felt. Those who had just counted cash rated their pain as significantly less than those who counted the paper.”
Who knew?! Well, as shocking as it may sound, I knew it all along boys and girls ;) Why do you think I caress my body w/ $100 bills before I go to bed every night? Or before I walk into work? Cuz it feels GOOD baby! Gets me all confident & sexy feeling too, haha…nah, I’m crazy but not *that* crazy.
Still though, I’ve always believed thinking about and looking at money made me happy. Not in some maniacal Scrooge McDuck kinda way, but more in the sense of getting me motivated and feeling like I can accomplish things faster. Why do you think I bought that Currency Album the other month? ;) Actually, I wonder if coin and money collectors are always jubilant then? Cuz THAT would be awesome…and I’d have to add it to my list of top 10 jobs to try out too.
But whether all this can be proven or not it doesn’t really matter. If shifting through the Benjamins makes you smile more and eases whatever pain is hurtin’ ya, I say keep on keeping on brotha! There are far worse things in life than surrounding yourself with money. Maybe good ol’ Snoop Dogg was on to something?
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Fore more info on these studies, click here.
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Thanks for pointing out these studies, J — I *love* this kind of money/psychology research. And actually, I’ve found the same thing in my experience.
I’m not usually a cash guy (I usually have like $3 cash on me at any given time), but when I do have a lot on me for whatever reason (if I’m making a big purchase or just cleaned out some friends in a poker game), I feel like I get a confidence/happiness boost. And usually, the larger the bills in my wallet, the better I feel.
Interestingly enough, however, it’s not just *my* money I feel this way about. At old part-time jobs I would have to count out the cash registers at the end of the night, I found counting money (even though it wasn’t my own) oddly soothing and inspiring.
Knowing this, I’m not gonna go all Scrooge McDuck either, although if I did have his kind of dough, I’d totally have a swimming pool filled with cash.
LOL As I read your blog topic, before I even read the entry, my first thought was SCROOGE MCDUCK! lol
I remember those cartoons and comics and though ‘ohhh that must be so fun’.
I would say I took find soothing peace in counting money. Mine, for school, at fundraisers. I always enjoyed rolling coins but never thought about how it ‘makes me feel better’. Interesting post.
I had the Scrooge McDuck thought too. I don’t have a giant tower vault to store all my cash in. Instead, I just settle with crafting handmade shower loofahs out of Benjamins. ;)
Hmmm…that’s a really weird study. The only pain I’ve ever associated with money is the physical pain it causes me to give it to someone else :)
Maybe I’m just immune because of all those years being a bank teller, but I’m not sure I’m buying it!
Brandi and Whitney’s statements are hilarious! I forgot what I was about to say! LOL!
I love how you are able to integrate humor and financial knowledge–rubbing yourself in $100 bills before going to work everyday?! That imagery has me LOL.
I get happy looking at a large balance in my checking or savings account, but I can’t say that a wad of bills does much for me. I usually have as little cash as possible on me–it’s just not very convenient.
(As for wallowing around in a pile of it, J. Money–just remember that recent study that showed 4 out of 5 bills had traces of cocaine on it…and keep in mind where the other end of the bill has been. Yikes!)
@David – Haha, yeah dude. I get a nice warm feeling when I’m handling other people’s money too! Very interesting study for sure – glad you enjoy this stuff :) Gets us to think for a bit, eh?
@jolie – Really? That Scrooge must be a popular guy ;)
@Keith @ LifeTuner – I bet if we all pull our money together we could make this vault happen?!
@Brandi – Hahahaha….indeed my friend.
@whitney – OH yeah, how does this affect bank tellers? That’s a good one…I wonder if all of your teller friends feel the same way too? I guess unless they’re smiling and happy all the time this doesn’t work ;) And I’ve been to a lot of banks this week – they didn’t seem so excited.
@lenciB – They’re on fire today :)
@Young Mogul – Haha, you’ve gotta spice it up every now and then, right? Esp when it comes to finance…usually a pretty bland topic.
@Stella – GOOD POINT!!! *that* study is freakin’ crazy too…imagine that? the odds that a bill in your pocket right now has traces of cocaine on it? insane…if it’s true. Kinda hard to believe there are that many druggies.
Sounds like a solid argument for transacting at least some of your business in cash!
Maybe it’s that in a cyber/virtual world, anything real, anything tangible, anything with physical substance, seems almost novel. Think back to when you were a kid, and coins felt more like money than dollar bills; why? To a kid, coins are real, and paper money is just paper! You can stack coins, flip them or play heads or tails–you can’t do any of that with paper bills.
A couple of years ago when the banking situation was looking less than solid, how many adults pulled some money out of the bank and held it in cash? There were posts about it all over the web and even in the MSM. There’s something about being able to see it, feel it and even smell it that seems more real than numbers on a computer screen or on a bank statment.
I was a bank teller for years and when I was at work, it had no affect on me. I was even the vault teller for awhile and was in charge of $300,000 in cash on any given day. You do grow immune to it when you work with hundreds of thousands of dollars every day, it almost becomes like Monopoly money.
However, the money in my own wallet is a different story. I feel SO much better when I make a purchase with cash versus when I make a purchase with my debit card or a credit card. I have no idea why, but it’s nice knowing that I bought it with cold hard cash and it’s 100% paid off, no worrying about it clearing my bank account or God forbid they accidentally charge me twice for the purchase. No need to worry about getting that credit card paid off in full by the due date. Cash is just very… liberating. No strings attached. You paid for it, it’s yours, no plastic involved. :)
Oh man, that sounds like FUN!!! I can see it now – J the “Vault guy” Money! haha…I could see how it would get old after a while though. Unless it was your OWN money, of course ;)
I like the way you think about spending cash too. It doesn’t work for me that way all the time, but I enjoy hearing how people manage their money so differently, and the reasons behind it. So thx for sharing!
@Kevin@OutOfYourRut – “Maybe it’s that in a cyber/virtual world, anything real, anything tangible, anything with physical substance, seems almost novel.” Totally! That’s a great point actually, hadn’t ever thought about that before… physical IS more “real” in that way. I dig it.