San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) November 08, 2011
70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Over 1.5 million Americans filed for bankruptcy in 2010, and by early 2011, the average American household carried nearly $ 10,000 in credit card debt. And yet we throw away 150 million cell phones each year and spend over $ 41 billion annually on our pets.
In Shiny Objects: Why We Spend Money We Dont Have in Search of Happiness We Cant Buy (HarperOne; November 2011; $ 25.99; ISBN 9780062093608), James A. Roberts, a leading researcher and expert on consumer behavior, exposes the hidden motivations and erroneous assumptions behind our spending habits. He also reveals the key to reversing the devastating and ever-increasing effects of materialism in modern culture, showing readers how we can actually increase our well-being by scaling back.
In addition, Roberts poses important questions like:
????Do you have an emergency fund of at least $ 2500 for that proverbial rainy day?
????Do you have at least six months worth of living expenses in the bank in case you lose your job or become ill?
????Are you regularly making investments to a retirement account?
If the answer is no to any of these, Shiny Objects offers the lessons needed to change spending habits and develop smarter saving strategies. With a series of quizzes and questionnaires developed over years of consumer researchand full of staggering new research on credit card abuse and compulsive shoppingShiny Objects will help readers examine their day-to-day behavior, offering tips and tools to make the necessary changes.
A perfect antidote to the fiscal anxiety thats been sweeping the nationand out just in time for the holiday shopping seasonShiny Objects sheds some much-needed light on the science of spending, and demonstrates how we can cultivate lives of real value.
About the Author
James Roberts is a Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he has been a faculty member since 1991. His research on compulsive buying, credit card abuse, and the way that materialism affects our quality of life has been featured on ABC World News Tonight and National Public Radio, and in The New York Times, USA Today, and Cosmopolitan. Dr. Roberts is a nationally recognized expert on consumer behavior and is quoted frequently in the media.
Praise for SHINY OBJECTS:
Robertss inquiry provides ample psychological and historical insights, but the books most valuable and unique feature is the quizzes included in each chapter. These opportunities for self-assessmenton how much we spend, how vulnerable we are to status anxietygive readers time, space and motivation to examine our own relationships toward consumer culture and personal happiness. An intriguing cultural historycumself-help book with abundant hard scientific data. Publishers Weekly
Shiny Objects is a superb explanation of how, why, and when Americans became obsessed with consumption. This book is both entertaining and thought-provoking as it forces the reader to confront his or her own views and values. For that reason alone, it is worth its weight in gold.
Jim Randel, author of The Skinny on Willpower: How to Develop Self-Discipline
Without shying away from the unpopular truth, Roberts encourages us to step back, notice, and yes, even laugh at our obsession with shiny objects. Important research findings and Practical exercises help us embrace our values and understand that we can never get enough of what we dont really need. April Lane Benson, Ph.D.,
author of To Buy or Not to Buy: Why We Overshop and How to Stop
Roberts has done an exquisite job of compiling the scientific research on consumer behavior. Shiny Objects showcases the negative impact of materialism, but it is also about remedies. Roberts is to be highly commended for his brilliance and helpful insights as we, as individuals and as a nation, struggle to maintain a sustainable economy.
M. Joseph Sirgy, author of The Psychology of Quality of Life
SHINY OBJECTS
Why We Spend Money We Dont Have in Search of Happiness We Cant Buy
by James Roberts
HarperOne, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
November 2011 | $ 25.99 | Hardcover | ISBN: 9780062093608
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