Become aware of and change money habits. Learn to stop self-sabotaging money use. Learn from examples of people with similar money issues and how they cope and grow and how couples deal with money differences. Learn how childhood affects money attitudes and beliefs.

Many of us are crazy about money. We spend too much of it and save too little. We hoard it, and we sink into debt over it. We lavish it and are stingy with it. We lie about it and fight over it. We think about it all the time, and we avoid thinking about it at all. What makes us act this way? We like to believe that our choices and actions are guided by rationality and common sense. But in fact, reason and common sense often have little to do with our money behavior. Even trained financial professionals can be crazy about money. Rather, our decisions are governed by our emotions and money beliefs. If these emotions and beliefs are balanced and clear, we will act wisely with our money. If they are confused, we will make poor decisions, creating financial havoc and deep unhappiness.

Crazy About Money helps you identify the unconscious emotions and beliefs that typically develop in childhood and drive your money decisions as an adult. It also shows you how to change misguided attitudes that lead so many people into money trouble.

Crazy About Money uses real and composite cases drawn from author Maggie Baker’s 30 years of clinical psychology practice. You’ll learn about Mary, who has a basement full of useless internet purchases she made to get even with her seemingly indifferent husband. And about Harry, an 89-year-old multimillionaire bachelor who nearly decided to move into a state-assisted-living facility for fear he would run out of money. You will also meet others who, perhaps just like you, overspend, under-save, and make poor investment decisions. In-depth discussions explain how many people, once they understand their motivations, are able to break short-sighted or destructive money attitudes and patterns of behavior.

Exercises at the end of each chapter will help you examine your own feelings and actions and point the way toward smarter choices with money, whether in saving, investing, spending, giving, or sharing. In today’s economic climate, it’s crucial to understand how you make money decisions and how you can improve them.