Happy Money

Key Concepts

Money isn’t everything

“New research shows that greater wealth often fails to provide as much happiness as many people expect.” (p. xiv)

Experiences > material goods

“Research shows that experiences provide more happiness than material goods in part because experiences are more likely to make us feel connected to others.” (p. 7)

Consume nice things as treats, in small quantities, so that they retain the happiness boost

“Abundance, as it turns out, is the enemy of appreciation.” (p. 27)

Focus on how purchases will affect how you use time

“…we suggest a simple exercise before making a major purchase: Think about Tuesday. Take the time to consider what you’ll be doing from morning to night this coming Tuesday. How will the purchase affect you on Tuesday? This simple exercise—thinking about time use on a specific day—helps us make less biased predictions about how much any one thing will influence our happiness.” (pp. 73-4)

Pay ahead and get the benefits of anticipation

“In a 2009 experiment, Belgian adults spent a few minutes every evening for two weeks envisioning several positive events that might happen the next day, from receiving a text message sent by a former flame to eating frites at a café. After two weeks of fantasizing, these mental time travelers exhibited a significant increase in their overall happiness.” (p. 82)

Examples: 

• Paying for all-inclusive vacation

• Buying tickets to an event

• Bundling your afternoon child care and date-night child care into a flat rate (p. 96)

Invest in and serve others

“Across the 136 counties studied in the Gallup World Poll, donating to charity had a similar relationship to happiness as doubling income.” (p. 113)

Quotables

“Remarkably, there is almost no evidence that buying a home—or a newer, nicer one—increases happiness.” (p. 2)

“That is, people may savor everything from the Double Down to Dumbo more when they know these delights won’t be available forever, increasing their own satisfaction even as companies ring up increased sales.” (p. 40)

 “Taking a job that requires an hour-long commute each way has a negative effect on happiness similar in magnitude to not having a job at all.” (p. 64) 

“In the past decade, the emotional benefits of parenthood have been much maligned…. Yet a recent study with a nationally representative sample of Americans revealed that playing with children produced more positive feelings than almost any other common daily activity.” (p. 67)

“Time constraints, however, feel relatively temporary. Sure, this Tuesday, you’re too busy…. By contrast, the Tuesday of the future look remarkably open, with only the occasional activity marked on the calendar.” (p. 71)

 “Time and money promote different mind-sets. We view our choices about how to spend time as being deeply connected to our sense of self. In contrast, choices about money often lead us to think in a relatively cold, relational manner. Focusing on time frees people to prioritize happiness and social relationships.” (pp. 74-5)

“Although the relationship between income and happiness is fairly weak among Americans, there is a much stronger relationship between individuals’ happiness and whether they have difficulty paying their bills. In other words, what we owe is a bigger predictor of our happiness than what we make.” (p. 95)