Multipliers of Prosperity: Simple Solutions for Complicated Lives

By MetLife Foundation and Common Cents Lab

When MetLife Foundation decided in 2013 to focus on financial inclusion, we had not finalized every detail of our strategy, but we were certain about one overarching principle. Whatever programs or products our grantees designed, we wanted them to be grounded in a real-world understanding of financial behaviors. Our financial lives are hardly the only area where human beings fail to perform as purely rational actors. After all, at this point practically everyone knows that they should exercise regularly, just as they know that they should save money. The reasons people engage in self-defeating behaviors, whether it’s spending everything they earn or skipping the workout they need, has little to do with lack of awareness and more to do with a complex mix of environment and psychology that end in people over-focusing on the present and discounting the future.

To read the full article, visit the Multipliers of Prosperity website.