Did you hear the next story in NPR, immediately after loss aversion? People get a better placebo effect from the more expensive placebo, i.e. the sugar pill that subjects were told cost more. That’s an issue for money management and for switching to a free office suite.

BTW, when I read the paragraph about the carrot, I simply took it that the spouse who is making the suggestion is taking the lead in coming up with the plan on how to structure of the reward. A wife could easily be the one dangling the carrot and coming up with the plan. Or both could come up with plans. In some marriages, one spouse may find it easier to motivate with a carrot of some sort. When it comes to spending money, often spouses do not agree on when to spend and when not to. He spoke from the husband’s point of view, because he is a husband.

FrugalRandy – it IS his job to write for his audience (particularly since he is now doing this as his main employment) and women are part of his audience – not to cry mea culpa at the least little criticism but simply to be aware of how others may take phrases.

I do quite often get the feeling from your posts though that you are the head of the household as far as financial decision making is concerned. you often refer to decisions “I” made, rather than decisions “we” made. If that works for you and your wife, that’s your business and nobody should have an opinion on that but you guys. But I am interested to hear whether that is how it works, and how your wife feels about the decision, for instance, to stop work. Presumably she needs to keep working for insurance reasons? I would be fascinated by her point of view on that.

I’m kind of bothered by the implication that the little woman will just follow along and do what she is told once she has an appropriate ‘carrot’. Trent, I like some of the things you write, but there is the odd comment like this that makes me think that you’re not writing for me, you’re writing for my husband, the man of the house who makes the important decisions.