Valentine’s Day invariably presents couples with a financial quandary especially when partners are opposite with how they spend money- a saver with a spender- and it can lead to problems and stress.
Boston College Assistant Marketing Professor Hristina Nikolova, Ph.D., has conducted award winning research on the topic of couples’ spending and says,” most couples are financial opposites and the spender wants to spend money and the saver is more careful and with their money and wants to meet their financial goals.”
“What happens with these mixed couples on joint decisions is that they tend to make poor financial decisions,” according to Nikolova, who discussed Valentine's Day gift giving with Morning Edition host Bob Seay.
Dr. Nikolova’s study, Should Birds of a Feather Flock Together? Understanding Self-Control Decisions in Dyads (Journal of Consumer Research), was the first work to examine how pairs of people make joint decisions where the decision involves instant gratification or bigger, long-term benefits such as a couple saving for retirement or taking a luxurious vacation.
Faculty info:http://:http://www.bc.edu/schools/csom/faculty/bios/nikolova.html
