❗Help close the gap: We still need to raise $40,000 by the end of March. Donate now

Decisions, decisions, decisions

Tess Vigeland Sep 7, 2012
HTML EMBED:
COPY
iStockphoto

Decisions, decisions, decisions

Tess Vigeland Sep 7, 2012
iStockphoto
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Every day we face decisions: Milk or cream. Bus or car. Gym or happy hour. But a lot of the tougher decisions? Those appear in our finances. Jack Otter tries to help with those decisions in his book “Worth It… Not Worth It?: Simple and Profitable Answers to Life’s Tough Financial Questions.” He’s also executive editor of CBSMoneyWatch.com.

“Part of the cost-benefit analysis is is people aren’t willing to spend the time to learn the sort of stuff you need to answer financial questions,” Otter told Money host Tess Vigeland. “So I try to reduce that time so it doesn’t seem so expensive.”

Otter’s book weighs the pros and cons for personal finance decisions like whether or not to move-in with your parents or live away from them, but in squalor. For Vigeland, the answer was clear, but Otter said it depends on an individual’s priorities.

Vigeland challenged Otter to a lightning round of financial decisions: Cash back or travel rewards card? Present or gift card? Contract or pay-by-the-minute? Take a listen to the interview above to find out Otter’s answers.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.