Marketplace Music

Playlist: The psychology of the price tag, unemployment checks

Christina Huh Jun 3, 2011

Posted by Christina Huh

For Marketplace Money, Friday June 3, 2011

On the job front: The Labor Department reported disappointing job numbers for May, but a boom in new social media tools may help you land that job. For the unemployed, your unemployment checks may no longer be paper checks but pre-paid debit cards. But beware of potential fees and rules for those cards. And we check in with a commentator who left college to take a job and got laid off.

You may not realize it, but price tags are speaking to you. Price ends with a nine? You’re more likely to grab it. We talk to author William Poundstone about the psychology behind the price tag. We learned some tips on how to talk to your aging parents of the state of their finances. Reporter Stacey Vanek Smith reported on the struggle some Egyptian expats have when choosing between their financial well-being and sending money back home. And here are the songs we played:

  • Working for the Weekend — LoverboyBuy
  • She Works Hard for the Money — Donna SummerBuy
  • The Future’s so Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades — Timbuk 3Buy
  • Slow Blues — Wu-Tang ClanBuy
  • Hot Body, Cool Head — Composed by Dave Smith and Alison Cole
  • Get Inside — Johnny A.Buy

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