ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Wendy De La Rosa - Behavioral scientist
Wendy De La Rosa is a co-founder of Common Cents Lab, where she focuses on using behavioral science to help people make better financial decisions.

Why you should listen

Wendy De La Rosa's work has been published in Scientific American, PBS Newshour, Forbes and Tech Crunch. In addition, she was recently named a Forbes "30 Under 30" honoree and a Daisy and Paul Soros scholar. De La Rosa is also a PhD at Stanford's Graduate School of Business focusing on consumer behavior. 

Prior to starting Common Cents Lab, De La Rosa helped start Google's first behavioral economics unit, optimizing product strategy and design, customer retention and engagement, and revenue across 30+ teams. She was also a researcher at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where she collaborated with Dr. Adam Grant on research and application projects related to organizational behavior, employee motivation and burn-out. She was also a private equity investor at Goldman Sachs.

De La Rosa holds a bachelor's in economics with a concentration in management and finance from Wharton. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. In her spare time, De La Rosa leads a monthly behavioral economic reading and discussion series.

More profile about the speaker
Wendy De La Rosa | Speaker | TED.com
The Way We Work

Wendy De La Rosa: 3 psychological tricks to help you save money

Wendy De La Rosa: 3 trucos psicolóxicos para axudarche a aforrar cartos

Filmed:
1,969,849 views

Todos queremos aforrar máis, pero, en xeral, hoxe a xente está a facelo cada vez menos. A científica do comportamento Wendy De La Rosa estuda como as persoas comúns toman decisións para mellorar o seu benestar financeiro. O que atopou pode axudarche a facer indoloro o compromiso de aforrar máis e gastar menos.
- Behavioral scientist
Wendy De La Rosa is a co-founder of Common Cents Lab, where she focuses on using behavioral science to help people make better financial decisions. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:00
We all know that saving is important
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Todos sabemos que aforrar é importante
00:02
and is something that we should be doing.
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e é algo que deberiamos estar facendo.
00:04
And yet, overall, we're doing
less and less of it.
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E aínda así, en xeral,
aforramos cada vez menos.
00:06
[The Way We Work]
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[Como funcionamos]
00:10
We know what we need to do.
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Sabemos o que debemos facer.
00:12
The question is: How do we do it?
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A pregunta é: como o facemos?
00:14
And that's what I'm here to teach you.
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E iso é o que vin a aprenderlles.
00:16
Your savings behavior
isn't a question of how smart you are
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O seu comportamento de aforro
non depende do listo que sexa
00:19
or how much willpower you have.
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ou de canta forza de vontade teña.
00:20
The amount we save depends
on the environmental cues around us.
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O que aforramos depende
das claves ambientais que nos rodean.
00:24
Let me give you an example.
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Déixenme darlles un exemplo.
00:25
We ran a study in which, in one group,
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Fixemos un estudo no que, nun grupo,
00:28
we showed people
their income on a monthly basis.
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amosábamoslle á xente
os seus ingresos mensualmente.
00:31
In another group, we showed people
their income on a weekly basis.
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Noutro grupo, amosamoslle á xente
os seus ingresos semanalmente.
00:34
And what we found was that people
who saw their income on a weekly basis
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E atopamos que a xente que vía
os seus ingresos semanalmente
administraba mellor
os cartos durante todo o mes.
00:39
were able to budget better
throughout the month.
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00:41
Now, it's important to know
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Pero é importante saber
00:42
that we didn't change
how much money people were receiving,
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que non cambiamos
a cantidade que recibía a xente,
00:45
we just changed the environment
in which they understood their income.
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senon tan só o ambiente
no que entendían os seus ingresos.
00:48
And environmental cues
like this have an impact.
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E indicios ambientais
coma estes causan un impacto.
00:51
So I'm not going to share tricks with you
that you already know.
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Non vou compartir con vostedes
trucos que xa saben.
00:54
I'm not going to tell you
how to open up a savings account
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Non lles vou dicir
como abrir unha conta de aforro
ou como comezar a aforrar
para a súa xubilación.
00:57
or how to start saving
for your retirement.
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00:59
What I am going to share with you
is how to bridge this gap
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O que vou compartir con vostedes
é como cubrir a distancia
01:02
from your intentions to save
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entre a súa intención de aforrar
01:03
and your actions.
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e as súas accións.
01:05
Are you ready?
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¿Prontos?
01:06
Here's number one:
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Aquí vai o número un:
01:07
harness the power of pre-commitment.
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aproveite o poder do compromiso previo.
01:09
Fundamentally, we think about ourselves
in two different ways:
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Básicamente, pensamos en nós mesmos
de dúas maneiras diferentes:
01:12
our present self and our future self.
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o noso ser presente e o noso ser futuro.
01:14
In the future, we're perfect.
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No futuro, somos perfectos.
01:16
In the future, we're going to
save for retirement,
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No futuro imos aforrar para a xubilación,
01:19
we're going to lose weight,
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imos perder peso,
01:20
we're going to call our parents more.
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imos chamar máis aos nosos pais.
01:22
But we oftentimes forget
that our future self
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Pero moitas veces esquecemos
que o noso ser futuro
01:24
is exactly the same person
as our present self.
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é xustamente a mesma persoa
que o noso ser presente.
01:27
We know that one of the best times to save
is when you get your tax return.
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Sabemos que un dos mellores momentos
para aforrar é coa devolución de impostos.
01:30
So we tried an A/B test.
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Así que fixemos unha proba A / B.
01:32
In the first group, we texted people
in early February,
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No primeiro grupo, enviamos un texto
ás persoas a principios de febreiro,
01:36
hopefully before
they even filed for their taxes.
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agardando que fose antes
de presentaren os impostos.
E preguntámoslles:
01:38
And we asked them,
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01:39
"If you get a tax refund,
what percentage would you like to save?"
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"Se recibe un reembolso de impostos,
que porcentaxe desexa gardar? "
01:43
Now this is a really hard question.
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Esta é unha pregunta moi difícil.
01:44
They didn't know if they would
receive a tax refund or how much.
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Non sabían se ían recibir unha devolución
ou cantos cartos serían.
01:48
But we asked the question anyway.
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Pero nós fixemos a pregunta igual.
01:50
In the second group, we asked people
right after they received their refund,
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No segundo grupo, preguntamos á xente
xusto despois de recibir a súa devolución,
01:54
"What percentage would you like to save?"
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"Qué porcentaxe desexa aforrar?"
01:56
Now, here's what happened.
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E isto foi o que aconteceu.
01:57
In that second condition, when people
just received their tax refund,
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Na segunda condición, cando
acaban de recibir a súa devolución,
02:01
they wanted to save about 17 percent
of their tax refund.
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querían aforrar preto do 17 por cento
da súa devolución.
02:04
But in the condition when we asked people
before they even filed their taxes,
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Pero na primeira condición, ao preguntar
antes de que presentasen os impostos,
02:09
savings rates increased
from 17 percent to 27 percent
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as taxas de aforro aumentaron
do 17 ao 27 por cento
02:13
when we asked in February.
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cando preguntamos en febreiro.
02:15
Why?
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Por que?
02:16
Because you're committing
for your future self,
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Porque se están comprometendo
vostedes co seu ser futuro,
02:18
and of course your future self
can save 27 percent.
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e por suposto o seu ser futuro
pode aforrar o 27 por cento.
02:21
These large changes in savings behavior
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Estes grandes cambios
no comportamento do aforro
02:23
came from the fact that we changed
the decision-making environment.
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viñeron por mor de cambiar
o ambiente da toma de decisións.
02:27
We want you to be able
to harness that same power.
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E queremos que poidan
aproveitar ese mesmo poder.
02:29
So take a moment
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Así que tómense un momento
02:30
and think about the ways in which
you can sign up your future self
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e pensen nas formas nas que poden
compromenterse co seu ser futuro
02:34
for something that you know today
will be a little bit hard.
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para algo que saben
que hoxe será un pouco duro.
02:37
Sign up for an app that lets you
make savings decisions in advance.
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Rexístrese nunha aplicación que lles deixen
tomar decisións de aforro con antelación.
02:40
The trick is, you have to have
that binding contract.
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O truco é: vostede ten que ter
ese contrato vinculante.
02:44
Number two: use transition moments
to your advantage.
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Número dous: use momentos
de transición para a súa vantaxe.
02:47
We did an experiment with a website
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Fixemos un experimento cun sitio web
02:49
that helps older adults
share their housing.
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que axuda a adultos maiores
a compartir a súa vivenda.
02:52
We ran two ads on social media,
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Publicamos dous anuncios en redes sociais,
02:54
targeted to the same
population of 64-year-olds.
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dirixidos á mesma poboación de 64 anos.
02:57
In one group, we said,
"Hey, you're getting older.
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Nun grupo dixemos:
"Ei, estás envellecendo.
03:00
Are you ready for retirement?
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Está listo para xubilarse?
03:01
House sharing can help."
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Compartir casa pode axudar ".
03:02
In the second group,
we got a little bit more specific
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No segundo grupo,
fomos un pouco máis específicos
03:05
and said, "You're 64 turning 65.
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e dixemos: "Tes 64 anos, vas para 65.
03:08
Are you ready for retirement?
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Está listo para xubilarse?
03:09
House sharing can help."
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Compartir casa pode axudar ".
03:10
What we're doing in that second group
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O que facemos nese segundo grupo
03:12
is highlighting that
a transition is happening.
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é resaltar que están a pasar
unha transición.
03:15
All of a sudden,
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E de súpeto,
03:16
we saw click-through rates,
and ultimately sign-up rates, increase
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vimos que aumentaron
as taxas de inscrición
03:19
when we highlight that.
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cando resaltamos iso.
03:20
In psychology, we call this
the "fresh start effect."
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En psicoloxía chamamos a isto
o "efecto novo comezo".
03:23
Whether it's the start of a new year
or even a new season,
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Sexa o comezo dun ano novo
ou incluso dunha nova tempada,
03:26
your motivation to act increases.
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A súa motivación para actuar aumenta.
03:29
So right now, put a meeting
request on your calendar
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Así que, agora mesmo,
apunte no seu calendario
03:31
for the day before your next birthday.
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o día anterior ao seu seguinte cumpreanos.
03:33
Identify the one financial thing
you most want to do.
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Identifique o que
quere facer financieiramente.
03:37
And commit yourself to it.
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E comprométase con iso.
03:38
The third and final trick:
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O terceiro e último truco:
03:40
get a handle on small, frequent purchases.
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obteña control sobre as compras
pequenas e frecuentes.
03:43
We've run a few different studies
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Fixemos algúns estudos diferentes
03:45
and found that the number one purchase
people say they regret, after bank fees,
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e atopamos que a compra número un
da que a xente se arrepinte,
tras as taxas bancarias, é comer fóra.
03:50
is eating out.
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03:51
It's a frequent purchase
we make almost every day,
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É un gasto frecuente
que facemos case todos os días,
03:54
and it's death by a thousand cuts.
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e é un pozo sen fondo.
03:56
A coffee here, a burrito there ...
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Un café aquí, un burrito alí ...
03:59
It adds up and decreases
our ability to save.
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Suma e diminúe
a nosa capacidade para aforrar.
04:02
Back when I lived in New York City,
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Cando vivía na cidade de Nova York,
04:04
I looked at my expenses
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mirei os meus gastos
04:05
and saw that I spent over 2,000 dollars
on ride-sharing apps.
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e vin que gastaba máis de USD 2000
en aplicacións para compartir auto.
04:10
It was more than my New York City rent.
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Era máis que meus gastos en vivenda
en New York.
04:12
I vowed to make a change.
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E prometín facer un cambio.
04:13
And the next month,
I spent 2,000 dollars again --
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Ao mes seguinte, volvín gastar USD 2000,
04:16
no change, because the information
alone didn't change my behavior.
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sen cambios, porque a información
por si soa non cambiou o comportamento.
04:20
I didn't change my environment.
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Non cambiei o meu ambiente.
04:22
So now that I was 4,000 dollars
in the hole, I did two things.
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E agora que tiña un burato de
USD 4000, fixen dúas cousas.
04:26
The first is that I unlinked
my credit card
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A primeira foi desvincular
a miña tarxeta de crédito
04:28
from my car-sharing apps.
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das miñas aplicacións.
04:30
Instead, I linked a debit card
that only had 300 dollars a month.
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E puxen no seu lugar unha tarxeta
de débito que só tiña USD 300 ao mes.
04:34
If I needed more,
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Se precisaba máis,
04:35
I had to go through the whole process
of adding a new card,
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tiña que pasar todo o proceso
de engadir unha nova tarxeta,
04:38
and we know that every click,
every barrier, changes our behavior.
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e sabemos que cada clic ou barreira
cambia o noso comportamento.
04:42
We aren't machines.
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Non somos máquinas.
04:44
We don't carry around an abacus every day,
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Non levamos un ábaco
con nós todos os días,
04:46
adding up what we're spending,
in comparison to what we wanted.
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engadindo o que estamos gastando,
en comparación co que queriamos.
04:50
But what our brains are very good at
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Pero no que os nosos cerebros son moi bos
04:52
is counting up the number of times
we've done something.
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é en contar o número de veces
que fixemos algo.
04:55
So I gave myself a limit.
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Así que me puxen un límite.
04:57
I can only use ride-sharing apps
three times a week.
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Só podo usar aplicacións para
compartir auto tres veces á semana.
05:01
It forced me to ration my travels.
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Iso obrigoume a racionar as miñas viaxes.
05:03
I got a handle on my car-sharing expenses
to the benefit of my husband,
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Controlei os meus gastos de compartir auto
polo ben do meu marido,
05:07
because of the environmental
changes that I did.
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grazas aos cambios ambientais que fixen.
05:09
So get a handle on whatever
that purchase is for you,
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Así que leven un control en calquera
que sexa a súa compra,
05:12
and change your environment
to make it harder to do so.
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e cambie o seu entorno
para facela máis difícil.
05:16
Those are my tips for you.
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Estes son os meus consellos.
05:17
But I want you to remember one thing.
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Pero quero que lembre unha cousa.
05:20
As human beings, we can be irrational
when it comes to saving
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Como seres humanos podemos
ser irracionais á hora de aforrar
05:24
and spending and budgeting.
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e gastar e administrar os cartos.
05:25
But luckily, we know this about ourselves,
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Pero por sorte, coñecémonos,
05:28
and we can predict how we'll act
under certain environments.
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e podemos predicir como actuaremos
baixo certos ambientes.
05:31
Let's do that with saving.
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Fagámolo co aforro.
05:33
Let's change our environment
to help our future selves.
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Cambiemos o noso entorno
para axudar ao noso ser futuro.
Translated by Penny Martínez
Reviewed by Alicia Ferreiro

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Wendy De La Rosa - Behavioral scientist
Wendy De La Rosa is a co-founder of Common Cents Lab, where she focuses on using behavioral science to help people make better financial decisions.

Why you should listen

Wendy De La Rosa's work has been published in Scientific American, PBS Newshour, Forbes and Tech Crunch. In addition, she was recently named a Forbes "30 Under 30" honoree and a Daisy and Paul Soros scholar. De La Rosa is also a PhD at Stanford's Graduate School of Business focusing on consumer behavior. 

Prior to starting Common Cents Lab, De La Rosa helped start Google's first behavioral economics unit, optimizing product strategy and design, customer retention and engagement, and revenue across 30+ teams. She was also a researcher at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where she collaborated with Dr. Adam Grant on research and application projects related to organizational behavior, employee motivation and burn-out. She was also a private equity investor at Goldman Sachs.

De La Rosa holds a bachelor's in economics with a concentration in management and finance from Wharton. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. In her spare time, De La Rosa leads a monthly behavioral economic reading and discussion series.

More profile about the speaker
Wendy De La Rosa | Speaker | TED.com