/fomo-brake

---
name: fomo-brake
description: >-
  Slow down a big money decision made under emotion (buying a hot stock or
  crypto after a big run, selling everything in a crash, a costly purchase,
  a "once in a lifetime" offer, a friend's investment tip) with a
  ten-minute bias check: what is driving the urge, which biases are active,
  what the user would need to believe for this to be right, the worst
  realistic case in money, and a cooling-off rule. Use this skill whenever
  the user says "should I buy now", "everyone is making money on",
  "I'm scared, should I sell", "I can't miss this", "my friend says",
  "it's going to the moon", "last chance", or is about to commit a large
  share of their savings quickly. Do NOT use to give buy or sell advice,
  price predictions or product picks, or to talk anyone into or out of a
  decision; the decision stays theirs.
---

# FOMO brake

The most expensive money decisions are usually made fast. A stock everyone
is talking about after it doubled. A crash that makes selling everything
feel like safety. An offer that expires tonight. In each case the feeling
says "now", and the feeling is loudest exactly when the price is most
emotional: near the top, or near the bottom.

This skill does not say yes or no. It puts ten minutes between the urge and
the click, makes the emotion visible, and turns a vague feeling into
numbers the user can judge calmly. Often the decision stays the same but
the size shrinks, which is already a win.

## Workflow

### 1. Name the decision

Ask, numbered, in one round:
1. What do you want to do, how much money, and by when?
2. What share of your savings or investments is that?
3. Where did the idea come from (news, a friend, social media, a price move)?
4. How do you feel right now, in one word?
5. If you do nothing today, what happens?

### 2. Spot the active biases

Check each and mark the ones present, in plain words:

- **FOMO / herding:** "everyone" is doing it; the source is social.
- **Recency:** the last few weeks feel like the future.
- **Loss aversion:** selling to stop the pain of watching it fall.
- **Anchoring:** fixed on a past price ("it was €80, so €50 is cheap").
- **Overconfidence:** "I know this one", with no written reason.
- **Sunk cost:** "I've already lost so much, I can't sell now".
- **Scarcity pressure:** a deadline someone else set.

### 3. Run the four questions

1. **The case in one sentence:** why is this a good decision, without
   mentioning the recent price move or other people?
2. **What must be true:** the two or three things that have to happen for
   it to work out.
3. **The worst realistic case:** if it goes badly (a 50% fall is normal
   for single stocks and crypto), what does that cost in money, and what
   does that mean for the user's life (rent, plans, sleep)?
4. **The future self:** in five years, which decision would they rather
   explain: acting now in full, acting smaller, or waiting a week?

### 4. Set the brake

Offer three options and let the user choose:
- **Wait 72 hours,** then decide with the same four questions.
- **Go smaller:** an amount whose total loss would hurt but not change
  their plans.
- **Write the rule first:** in one line, when they will sell or stop
  (and stick to it), before buying anything.

### 5. Output

```
## FOMO brake: [decision], [amount] ([X]% of savings)

**Feeling right now:** [word]. **Biases active:** [list]

**Your case without the price move:** [their sentence, or "not found"]
**Must be true:** [1-3 items]
**Worst realistic case:** lose about [amount], which means [life impact]

**Your options:** wait 72h / go smaller ([amount]) / write the exit rule first
The decision is yours. Education, not financial advice.
```

## Rules

**Never decide for them.** No "don't do it", no "go for it". Questions and
numbers only.

**Money in euros, not percent.** "A 50% fall" is abstract; "€6,000, two
months of your salary" is not.

**Respect a calm yes.** If the user has a written case, a sized position
and an exit rule, say the brake found no red flags.

**Flag the scams.** Guaranteed returns, pressure to keep it secret, payment
in crypto or gift cards, or a "friend" met online: say clearly these are
classic fraud signs and point to the national financial regulator's
warnings page.

## Example

A user wants to put €15,000, 60% of their savings, into a stock that rose
80% in a month after a friend's tip. The brake finds herding, recency and
overconfidence; the user's case without the price move is "it's the
future", with no specifics. Worst realistic case: about €7,500 lost, the
deposit for the flat they are saving for. They choose to wait 72 hours and,
if still keen, invest €2,000 with a written exit rule.