If there's one thing we know about social media, it's that misinformation is everywhere,

especially when it comes to personal finance.

Financially inclined from Marketplace is a podcast you can trust to help you get serious about your money

so you can build a life you've always dreamed of.

I'm the host, Janelli Espinal, and each week I ask experts important money questions,

like how to negotiate job offers, how to choose a college that you can afford, and how to talk

about money with friends and family. Listen to financially inclined wherever you get your podcasts.

One of the first big tasks of adulthood is figuring out how you'll navigate the economy.

You have to get that first job, figure out how to make your paycheck cover the stuff you need,

and how to save for the stuff you want down the road, like maybe a house.

One of the most crucial lessons of adulthood is that the economy works a lot like a game,

a game where the rules are not necessarily fair.

From KERA in Dallas, this is think. I'm Chris Boyd. The game isn't fair in part because the

rules are often set by the winners, which is to say the people who are already doing very well

and invested in maintaining their financial success. But you don't have to start out rich to learn to play well.

And my guest says that learning and applying strategies drawn from game theory can pay off for us when we make a big purchase,

interview for a job, or face a decision about seeking a promotion versus looking for a better job with a new employer.

Darrell Fairweather is chief economist at

Redfin and author of the book, Hate the Game, Economic Cheat Codes for Life, Love, and Work.

Daryl, welcome to think. Thank you so much for having me. One thing you understood early as you were

preparing for a career as an economist was that we don't live in a perfect

meritocracy where hard work and talent determine the limits of our success. How do statistics

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