3 posts tagged “money”

I read a good article today called "Professor Happiness--The Interview.   The professor wrote a book called "Stumbling on Happiness" that I just added to my list.  What he says rings true to me:

"Another thing we know from studies is that people tend to take more pleasure in experiences than in things. So if you have "x" amount of dollars to spend on a vacation or a good meal or movies, it will get you more happiness than a durable good or an object. One reason for this is that experiences tend to be shared with other people and objects usually aren't... People think a car will last and that's why it will bring you happiness. But it doesn't. It gets old and decays. But experiences don't. You'll "always have Paris" — and that's exactly what Bogart meant when he said it to Ingrid Bergman. But will you always have a washing machine? No."

He also indirectly talks about the "law of diminishing returns" (a helpful Econ 101 topic) in regards to money.  He says, "The data says that with the poor, a little money can buy a lot of happiness. If you're rich, a lot of money can buy you a little more happiness."

Over the last several years, Ivy and I have uncovered some money principles that we have found to be true and helpful for us:

- Recognize that the best things in life--and most of the good things--don't require any money (e.g. walking around outside; visiting family and friends; reading books from library; conversation)

- Cultivate an interest in the things that require less, or minimal, money (e.g. have friends over for dinner instead of automatically going out to eat; listen to itunes radio instead of buying new cds)

- Live below your means, avoid debt and save (e.g. it required some degree of inconvenience but we successfully have had one car the last five years)

- Be an owner--and a seller (of real estate or business interests that go up in value and then sell them for a profit; e.g., real estate or business equity)

- Recognize that consumption does not equal happiness or satisfaction (Ivy is much better at applying this than me.  It is radically counter-cultural to choose NOT to spend money on something to have fun.  But we find that when we do something that requires more effort on our part, it's often more satisfying:  e.g., cooking your own food; reading an unread book you already own rather than buying a new one)

This is from a yahoo finance article featured on lifehacker.com:

"Rich in Time

How much would people sacrifice to spend an extra hour a day with family or loved ones? A quarter would only give up 5 percent of their salary; 15 percent would sacrifice 10 percent of their income; 4 percent would give up 20 percent of pay; and 5 percent would tolerate a cut of more than 20 percent.

The group who most desired time rather than the money? Men age 45 to 54, with 61 percent reporting they would make the tradeoff. "We're one of few nations in the world without a mandatory vacation policy or a maximum limit on the amount of overtime you can ask someone to work," says Kasser. "We're time-poverty-stricken."

Kasser has conducted a variety of studies that found people who are "time affluent" are happier than those who are materially affluent. "Time-affluent people had more time to spend engaged in activities focused on personal growth, friends, and family and contributing to community" -- all essential factors in happiness, he explains.

Meanwhile, experts agree that financial comfort can be achieved by carefully managing the money you have -- something 23 percent of survey respondents said they don't have the knowledge to do."