Study: Your Mood Affects Your Wallet

Yesterday we showed you the importance of being grateful and how it affects your physical and mental well being.  Today we're talking your overall disposition and you're bottom line.

A new study published in the journal Psychological Science has found sadness can lead to impulsive, and irresponsible financial choices. Translation: If you keep your emotions in check, you might be able to keep your spending in check as well.

Here's how the study worked:

Participants watched either a sad or neutral video and then were offered a monetary reward.

 

They were given a choice- they could receive the money after the session, or receive a bigger reward that would be mailed to them in the future.

 

Participants who watched the neutral video chose to have the reward mailed to them 13-to-34-percent more often than people who watched the sad video.

 

Scientists involved with the study say people who are sad tend to focus more on the present, rather than the future.

My opinion: When you're sad, you're looking for something - anything - to snap you out of your funk.  If someone wants to hand you money right now, that'll put a bigger smile on your face than having to wait for the cash.

What do you think?