The decisions we make throughout our lives about money, work, health and relationships have a tremendous influence on how we age. And as the number of older people increases, not only in the United States but around the world, the decisions seniors make and how they make them will have a significant impact on global economies and societies.

What makes some people thrifty savers and others shrewd investors? Experts find it's probably not just personality or intelligence that influences how you handle money and investing. Your age and the economic conditions prevailing during your various life stages shape how you perceive financial matters, and learning about your age bias may help you overcome it.

One of the surest ways to frustrate my mother was for her to accompany Grandma Ethel, then in her mid-90s, to her favorite delicatessen near the assisted-living facility she called home in Chicago. It had a menu as big as a billboard, and Ethel relished the chance to consider almost every dish before she settled on an old favorite, no matter how long the process took.
 

De onderzoekers van de Universiteit van Stanford lieten 110 mannen en vrouwen van verschillende leeftijd kiezen uit drie aandelen met een verschillende naam. Twee van de aandelen hadden een regelmatige opbrengst, de ander was erg risicovol.

The common perception is that older people are more conservative investors than their younger counterparts. But brain imaging studies combined with economic analysis are causing neuroscientists to question that idea.

Despite our stereotyped notions of the predictable elderly investor, new research suggests certain regions of the brain make for increasingly irrational decisions as investors age.

New studies help explain why, despite having more experience, senior citizens often make unprofitable financial choices