Your neighbor buys a brand new BMW -- the same one you eyed in a catalog last week -- and you burn with envy. Your coworker purchases a new house and invites you to a housewarming party. You debate whether to turn down the invitation only because you're angry that you haven't found a home for yourself after a frustrating two-year search.  There will always be things others possess that we wish we could own, too.  But comparing yourself to others and always trying to keep up with the Joneses is the wrong approach. If you want something badly, work hard to acquire it -- whether that means saving money for years, cutting vacations for a while, or angling for a promotion.  Once you have it in your possession, take pride in the fact that you accomplished a huge goal by virtue of your hard work -- that you rewarded yourself with something you truly deserved.  In other words, what you achieve should revolve solely around you -- not what others do o...

If there's something I love to do, it's to go to concerts. I actually went to one last night and had a whale of a time. Apparently, I'm not the only one who feels this way, and opportunistic individuals looking to make good money have taken notice. I read an article this morning stating that concertgoers have taken to eBay to sell sealed plastic bags containing air collected at the venue during the concert! I assumed that it had to be some kind of joke, but upon deeper research, it became clear this was no hoax. In fact, some of these air-containing bags are going for hundreds -- if not thousands, and people are actually placing bids! You're probably wondering how someone would even know for sure whether the air was really collected at the time of the event, or just done at, say, that person's house. I raised the same question, but I can only surmise that there's a way to certify the air as being authentic. Perhaps the seller photographs himself or her...

How many times have you gone into a store and seen signs that say something along these lines: "Supplies running fast!" "Buy them before they're gone!" "Only 5 left!" "Sale ends soon!" Now, be honest: How many times did you go through with the purchase because you believed what the signage said to be true? Yep, even I've fallen for it myself, and I actually majored in marketing and minored in psychology! In marketing and consumer psychology, it's what we call the scarcity principle : Consumers attach more value to things that are few in quantity and thus feel more compelled to purchase such items. But this isn't limited to brick-and-mortar stores -- companies also use this marketing tactic online. Take Amazon.com. At some point, you're bound to come across an item whose description includes "Only 3 left in stock. Order soon." Companies seldom run out of inventory, unless we're talking about much...