Christie JungeA Plus Solutions Inc. · CEO | Profit First Professional

MONEY MYTHS FROM MIKE MICHALOWICZ #themoneyhabit #money #getrich #moremoney #moneymanagement #cash

15 Jan 2026 · 1 min

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In this short monologue, Mike Michalowicz argues that strict deprivation is counter‑productive for personal finance because it triggers psychological reactance – the tendency to resist imposed restrictions. Instead of forbidding discretionary spending, he proposes a behavioral budgeting technique that creates a dedicated “fun” bank account (e.g., a dinner or movie account). A set percentage of each paycheck is automatically transferred to this account. When the balance is sufficient, the individual can enjoy the activity; if not, they wait. This guard‑rail approach satisfies the desire for enjoyment while preventing overspending, aligning financial discipline with human psychology.

Chapters

Deprivation is not a discipline. It's a trap when it comes to your finances. We're told, you know, you can't do that. But when you're told you can't do it, your mind says, I won't adhere to that. It's called psychological reactance. We resist and retaliate against restriction. So there's a better way. Allow yourself to have fun, but you've got to set up guardrails around it. This is the exact technique to use. At your bank, add one additional account. Give it the name of the activity that gives you fun. Going out to dinner, enjoying a movie, whatever it may be. So call it a dinner account or a movie account. Then allocate a percentage of your income into that account. When it has enough funds to do activity, you can go do it. When you look in it and there's not enough money there, it's not time to do it yet.