Categories can make a difference



I have a terrible time categorizing things the “right” way, because I can usually see relationships between things that frequently aren’t apparent to other people. This has been a source of frustration for me since the first time I was asked to sort items. I can relate a key to the Eiffel Tower, for example, or a dog to a glass of water. Don’t even get me started on questions like “Rank these items in order of similarity: a key, the Eiffel Tower, a dog, and a glass of water.” (Those are extreme examples, but they make the point.)

So it’s no wonder that I have a difficult time organizing my posts here into the most appropriate category. I often ask my husband or son for help, after I weed out the categories that a post is least likely to be found in (I know this post won’t end up in Books, Carnivals, or Taxes, for example).

What does all this have to do with personal finance? Well, it’s just this: the way that you categorize things affects how you think, and vice versa. If you don’t even HAVE a mental category for something, chances are that you’re not focusing much of your attention on the things that would go in that category.

Guess what my husband asked me awhile back: “You have a money blog, and no category for investing?”

Uh, oops. So I started a savings & investments category. And as soon as I became aware of the need for a category like that, I also started investing in non-retirement vehicles for the first time ever, and my savings increased. Boy am I glad he mentioned that.

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Posted in Financial health on Jul 24, 2007

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