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The financial risks of stories we love.

Well, my friends, we’ve reached another Friday. To send you into the weekend, today I’ve collected two (and only two) stories about money for you. Why only two? Because they’re both long and they’re both interesting and they’re both entertaining. I believe that two is enough for today.

To kick things off, here’s a recent story that’s right up my alley: It’s all about collecting old computer games. I started playing games in 1979. Back then, we loaded them from cassette tape onto our lo-res Apple II computer. Today, those games are collectible…

Inside the $100k+ forgery scandal that’s roiling PC game collecting. [Ars Technica] β€” “The world of PC game collecting has yet to attract the kind of eye-popping, seven-figure-dollar sales seen with some rare Nintendo games. Still, a committed collecting community has developed around older PC titles, with some people paying thousands of dollars for intact disks, packaging, and materials of computer games from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s.” [See also this write-up from the Computer Gaming World Museum.]

And the second half of our double-header looks at how stories shape us. It’s about how we don’t make money decisions based on numbers and rational choice; we make money decisions based on emotions and image and aspiration.

The financial risks of the stories we love. [The Root of All] β€” “Perhaps no other group of people on the planet knows the effectiveness of stories better than the advertising industry. Having worked in advertising, I know the little secret to a successful ad isn’t to sell a product but an entire world view. After all, buying stuff is often not about the stuff but about identity.”

And that’s it. That’s all I have for you today.

I hope that you enjoy your weekend. Me? I’ll be sitting here at this desk, frantically working to put together the new Get Rich Slowly “de-design”. If all goes well, though, Monday morning will see my site dressed in a new outfit! πŸ˜‰