The Behavioral Divide with Hal Hershfield
Episodes
Risk and Reality: What the Research Says (and What Clients Do)
01 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Risk can be complicated. One client’s views on risk might vary quite a lot from another. Just the same, one’s feelings about risk can vary from to...
What the Academics Say Personal Finance Gurus (and Financial Advisors) Are Getting Wrong
28 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Much of the popular personal financial advice that reaches the average person doesn’t come from economists or professors. It often comes from writer...
How to Help Others Change Their Behavior (Without Pushing Too Hard)
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Change is hard. Helping others change isn’t always simple either. But we know, especially for folks like financial advisors, there will be times it’...
Process over Results: Tips to Improve Your Approach to Big Decisions
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Not all bad outcomes result from bad decisions just like not all good outcomes come from good decisions. This simple thought speaks to the importance ...
Everyone’s Busy: How to Communicate So People Actually Respond and Act
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you find that your emails to clients and prospects at times seem to go unread? You reach out. No response. What gives? When we’re dealing with bu...
From Numbers to Meaning: Rethinking Risk Communication
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Quantifying risk with hard numbers and statistics is a logical first step to improving others’ understanding of potential outcomes, but there are wa...
Taming Uncertainty - What’s Knowable, What’s Random, and How to Navigate Both
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Uncertainty is a constant in life—and especially in our financial lives. But not all uncertainty is created equal. Some arises from missing informat...
How Does Our Personality Shape How We Spend, Save and Plan?
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know our financial decisions may be affected by our personality? It turns out being more agreeable, more conscientious, or more extroverted, f...
The Empty Nester Phase and Its Importance for Retirement Readiness
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Parents know well the high costs of raising children. Certainly, this affects our ability to save for retirement or meet other financial goals, but wh...
Elegant Trades: Insights for Smarter Negotiations
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You may have heard the saying “everything in life is a negotiation.” It highlights the prevalence of negotiations across many facets of our everyd...
The Effects of Financial Stress Across the Income Spectrum
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There are obvious negative effects of financial stress—or financial constraints, in general. But how do financial constraints actually affect our de...
Why Financial Literacy Might Matter Today More than Ever
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Financial literacy has been found to be a strong predictor of future financial outcomes. A better understanding of fundamental financial concepts tend...
Making the Most of Financial Legacy Decisions
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There are plenty of logical reasons to devote some of our current wealth to future generations, such as supporting a better future for your family or ...
How Can We Overcome FOMO?
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fear of missing out, or FOMO, is something we can face in many different aspects of our lives. Whether it’s our investment portfolio, our social liv...
How Can We Keep Our Financial Resolutions?
10 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever failed to stick with a New Year’s resolution? Chances are that’s a ‘yes’. The truth is that most only last a few months. And jus...
How Does Age Affect Our Financial Decisions?
13 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Age is a topic many prefer to avoid. But, when it comes to financial decisions, age may be something we should be thinking about. Age can certainly pl...
How Can We Spend to Enhance Meaning?
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While most would be happy to have more money, the reality is that more money may not lead to greater happiness for everyone. For many, living a fulfil...
What’s the Best Way to Budget?
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve all likely dealt with budgeting in one form or another, but is there any well-tested advice on how best to budget? And how does it fit into ma...
How Can Couples Better Manage Money?
13 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are many sources of conflict among couples, but money may be one of the biggest. In this episode of The Behavioral Divide with Hal Hershfield, w...