If we decide they do matter, when in fact they don’t, we risk wasting limited resources that would be better spent elsewhere.

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Erika Rasure is globally-recognized as a leading consumer economics subject matter expert, ...

Marshall Hargrave is a stock analyst and writer with 10+ years of experience covering stocks and markets, as well as analyzing and valuing companies. Dr. JeFreda R. Brown is a financial consultant, ...