Our brains are hardwired to relentlessly believe that we don’t have enough. Michael Easter, our guest today, calls it the scarcity brain which is also the name of his recent book. And even though we know it’s definition, scarcity is likely a concept that few folks listening to this podcast have much experience with. At least in our modern age, we have enough food, shelter, and clothing on hand that the vast majority of folks haven’t felt the true impacts of real scarcity. In fact most of us have plenty of the things needed for survival, plus the countless cardboard boxes of stuff that we’re duped into purchasing on a whim. So why spend an episode talking about a shortage of resources? Well it’s because problems arise when our minds are programmed to operate in a world of scarcity, but in reality we’re living in an age of abundance. Michael has traveled the world, he’s observed tribes in the jungles of Bolivia, studied addiction in bombed out hotels in Baghdad, and spoken with the top researchers of psychology in order to understand the mind and how we form good and bad habits. We discuss the scarcity loop, gambling addiction, our incessant buying of stuff, gamification, and more during today’s episode!

Additional links:

• Michael Easter – Head over to his site to learn more about his books and where you can also sign up for his newsletter, 2%.
  • Clearspace was the app Michael mentioned to help eliminate digital distractions.

• Money Mission Statement – Check out the worksheet we created to help you create your own Money Mission Statement! Download it, and give it a solid 30 minutes one evening to really begin some soul searching to determine what you want your life to look like.

• Credit Card Tool – Looking for the right credit card for you? Then check out our new credit card tool that’ll help you to easily filter through all the cards based on your preferred airline, whether or not they have an annual fee, or simply by the cashback offer! Just toggle the sliders and you’ll know which card to consider.

• Newsletter – Don’t forget to sign up for the best personal finance newsletter in all the land! It’s completely free and something we create to help you along your journey to financial freedom. It drops every Tuesday morning and you can always unsubscribe if you don’t dig it!

During this episode we enjoyed a Nelson Double IPA by Ever Grain Brewing- a big thanks to Rhiannah for sending this one our way! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!

Best friends out!