According to an MSN article, there’s a high correlation between payday and death for some demographics (senior citizens, military personnel, tax rebate recipients for example). The theory states that for these groups of people, payday equates to spending money on riskier behavior. And riskier behavior can lead to a higher rate of death.
Take for instance drinking alcohol. For a person who is dead broke right before their pay check, they might not be able to go for a drink with their buddies very frequently. Yet as soon as that pay check hits their bank account, they go blow a few extra bucks on drinks. Now, most responsible adults make sure to have a designated driver on hand. Yet we can assume that a person who lives pay check to pay check might be more on the irresponsible side meaning they are more willing to forgo that designated driver.
Now assume the worst: More money + more drinks = car accident. Hence one example of death correlating with pay day.
Of course, just because there is a high correlation between two events doesn’t mean there is a definite cause/effect relationship. Although the theory may explain certain instances of death.
I know that in my case, the moment my pay check hits my bank account, it is immediately budgeted out for bills, savings, and some fun, but definitely not risky behavior. Though this might have something to do with being responsible and not living pay check to pay check.
Do you find that you indulge yourself more right after payday?
Now for some link love:
Excellent reads from this past week:
- Squirrelers with 5 Steps to Increase Your Savings. Who doesn’t want to increase their savings? This post offers some excellent, common sense tips for saving more money.
- Money Crush with Track Spending; Get What’s Important. This is a great complimentary post to Squirrelers. You have to figure out your expenses before you know how much extra cash you have to save!
- Mighty Bargain Hunter with Cutting Payments as Late as Possible: More Trouble Than it’s Worth? I can see where hanging on to your cash for as long as you can is a great idea. But with barely-there interest rates, is it worth it if you end up paying late?
- Frugal Confessions with Pensions and Social Security: Will Your Benefits be Reduced? The answer for me is yes. My social security amount is so low, I’m pretty sure by the time my pension is calculated, I’m guessing I won’t be getting any SS.
- Couple Money with Agreeing to Disagree. It’s all in how a couple deals with major decisions. Of course, I’m most curious as to whether or not Elle had her baby yet!
A big thanks to those referring track to my site this week:
6 Comments
Not really, and for me the reason is that I do a month to month checkup which takes place at the end of the month, so any spending decisions and such that come about on payday don’t hit until the next cycle. This actually keeps me more likely to behave, as I don’t like uncertainty.
Very interesting about payday and death in some demographics…
Thank you for including my post!
I never thought about such correlations, but it makes perfect sense…
I find it very interesting that the correlation exists with payday and senior citizens. I guess if they have the money to go somewhere (like a mini-vacation), they are driving themselves and sometimes bad things happen (like falling asleep behind the wheel, etc)?
Great stuff Little House, very interesting!!!
No risky behavior on payday or any other time. I am fairly consistent and I only take calculated risks.
First off, thanks for mentioning my post on savings! Much appreciated.
As for the the correlation between payday and risky deaths, that’s interesting. Now, often times correlation doesn’t equate to causation, but I can see where there might be a link here. So many people live paycheck to paycheck, as illustrated by a recent study which revealed that nearly 50% of people couldn’t cover an unexpected $2,000 expense within 30 days. Who knows?
Many people have very real problems and unfortunate circumstances, but there are also irresponsible people out there as well. That latter group of people might get their paychecks and think “woo-hoo!, time to par-tay!”…and then take risks that in some cases aren’t worth it due to the high price.
Anyway, it’s interesting reading. Thanks for sharing!
@Squirrelers – Agreed that the correlation doesn’t clearly show a cause/effect relationship, but in some cases I can see where people think money = party. 😉