Money Lies and Financial Dishonesty
October 1, 2019 by One Frugal Girl
“The slickest way in the world to lie is to tell the right amount of truth at the right time-and then shut up.”― Robert A. Heinlein
Detecting Lies and Half-Truths
I have a knack for evaluating a person’s character quickly and accurately. A friend of mine calls it a unique sixth-sense; an uncommon ability to recognize the truthfulness and sincerity in a stranger’s words. I can read body language like a psychic reads tea leaves or a palm reader examines the lines in your hand. I recognize the subtle physical clues others can’t see or choose to ignore. The truth often reveals itself through unusual hand gestures, facial expressions, vocal changes and eye movement. In person it’s easy for me to spot the discrepancies between baseline behavior, (what’s normal in non-threatening conditions), and the atypical body language of someone who is acting dishonestly.
This works great when I meet someone face-to-face, but unfortunately it has no relevance in today’s digital world. These days we are masked by the Internet. We are hidden behind computer screens where facial expressions and body language are no longer visible to those with whom we communicate. We coexist in a binary, data-driven society that provides zero clues about our honesty. It enables us to invent things like ‘fake news’.
As I sit in front of my computer screen I can’t observe the emotions and mannerisms of the story tellers weaving their tales. None of us can, so how can we distinguish fact from fiction? Are we being told the truth, a partial truth or an out-and-out lie? How often are people honest on the Internet particularly when it comes to money? How often do you believe the presented facts and how often do you question them? Are we Being Honest or Crafting an Illusion?
As a personal finance enthusiast I’ve read a lot of blogs about money, income, success and failure. As a blogger I’ve written over 1700 posts on those same topics. I’ve used this blog as a online financial journal of sorts. The story began a few years after graduation and has continued, (except for a short hiatus), for more than thirteen years.
All along the way I took pride in my honesty and integrity. I told the story to the best of my ability. This is my truth, or so I thought, but as I read the words of others I’m not so sure. As personal finance enthusiasts and bloggers are we telling the whole truth or are we inadvertently crafting an illusion of what we’ve accomplished and who we are?
Money Lies
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