To Get at the Root of Spending, Pay Attention

In personal finance, almost all of the advice we come across seems to focus on playing defense. We’re always looking for ways to build bigger and better walls to protect ourselves from bad behavior: Cut up the credit cards. Pay only with cash. Stick to a budget. Hide the passwords.

It’s all good advice, but it’s defensive. And no matter how big the wall, our smarter, more clever self will find a way around, under or over it.