At the risk of sounding melodramatic, shopping addiction operates the same way as heroin addiction. Sure, the consequences are different, but how the two items interact with your brain is similar. With heroin, the consequences are financial ruin, shattered familial relationships, depression, and ultimately, severe medical problems or death. With a shopping addiction, everything except death is bound to happen. However, death is not out of the question as debt can cause pretty severe depression.

How does heroin work? Heroin is an opioid, a very powerful painkiller. Our bodies are packed with opioid receptors which are supposed to bind to endorphins, our natural pain-killing substances that are created when our bodies get injured or goes into shock. Heroin acts just as an endorphin would and binds to the receptors, giving a

What does TED stand for?

TED is an acronym formed from T, for T-bills, and ED, for the Eurodollar futures contract.

What is the spread?

Originally the spread was between the interest rates for three-month US Treasuries contracts and the three-month Eurodollars contract as represented by the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).

However, ever since the Chicago Mercantile Exchange dropped T-bill futures, the spread is calculated as the difference between the three-month T-bill interest rate and three-month LIBOR (wiki).

How is the spread measured?

As you see in the chart below, the spread ranges from around between “50” and “500.” What do these numbers represent?

The chart below is in basis points, aka bps. For example, let’s say the T-bill rate is

HLR reviewed “So Many Shoes, So Little Money” a few weeks ago. At the end of the review, she gave her thoughts and recommendations:

It’s crucial for everyone to have at least a basic understanding of personal finance. It is usually not taught in school. Children often do not learn it from their parents (and in some cases, learn detrimental habits from parents). So, if this type of a book engages women (or men!) who are highly fashion-conscious, or who have closets overflowing with designer nametags, then more power to Serwin. If the clothing-related metaphors cause more people to learn about responsible finance, then that is terrific and this is 100% for them.