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Why We’re Bad With Money

Why We’re Bad With Money

By: Nathan Pali
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About this listen

Why We’re Bad With Money is a personal finance and behavioral psychology podcast about the real reasons humans keep making the same financial mistakes—no matter how smart we are.

We overspend. We panic. We chase bubbles. We ignore risks. We repeat patterns we swear we’ll never repeat again.

This podcast explores the psychology of money, behavioral finance, and the hidden history behind modern personal finance to explain why money so often bypasses logic and goes straight to emotion.

Each episode blends financial history, neuroscience of money, and plain-English explanations of the financial systemto uncover:

  • Why smart people make terrible money decisions
  • How fear, greed, and social pressure drive spending and investing
  • How the brain processes risk, reward, and financial loss
  • Why debt feels normal and saving feels hard
  • Why bubbles, crashes, and financial panics keep repeating
  • How childhood, culture, and status shape money habits
  • How to build better financial behavior by understanding yourself

This isn’t a stock-picking podcast or a motivational money show. It’s a story-driven guide to money behavior, financial decision-making, and understanding the human flaws that quietly shape markets, debt, wealth, and personal finance.

If you’re interested in personal finance, behavioral economics, psychology of money, financial habits, how the financial system works, investing behavior, and finally understanding why money is so hard for humans—this podcast is for you.

Why We’re Bad With Money Because the problem usually isn’t math. It’s being human.

© 2026 Why We’re Bad With Money All rights reserved.
Economics Personal Development Personal Finance Personal Success
Episodes
  • Why Modern Money Feels So Unsatisfying
    Jan 23 2026

    Even when the numbers rise, peace often doesn’t. This episode explains why modern money fails to deliver security — and how ancient instincts still shape our expectations of wealth.

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    17 mins
  • Unpacking the Tulip Mania Bubble
    Feb 14 2026

    In this episode, we explore the historical phenomenon of Tulip Mania in the 17th-century Dutch Republic, examining how a market for exotic flowers transformed into a speculative bubble driven by contract trading. We discuss the societal conditions that enabled such speculation and the key factors that led to its eventual, yet contained, collapse.

    Chapters

    00:00 Tulip Mania's Beginnings

    00:00 The Dutch Republic Market

    02:04 Tulips as Status Goods

    03:20 The Rise of Tulip Contracts

    05:00 Low Entry, High Hype

    08:25 The Logic of Bubbles

    10:12 The Bubble Bursts

    13:02 Lessons from Tulip Mania

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    12 mins
  • Spanish Silver and Europe's Price Revolution
    Feb 13 2026

    In this episode, we explore how overwhelming quantities of silver from the Americas reshaped 16th-century European economies and triggered the 'Price Revolution.' We also discuss how this surge in global money resulted in widespread inflation, economic paradoxes for Spain, and a silent redistribution of wealth across society.

    Chapters

    00:00 Introduction to New World Silver

    01:55 The Price Revolution Begins

    04:46 Silver's Journey and Spain's Paradox

    08:46 Impact on Contracts & Society

    11:52 Spain's Struggles and Global Reach

    15:23 Lessons from Abundant Money

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    12 mins
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