Happy Money: The Science Of Smarter Spending (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Most financial guidebooks tell us how to make more money, but academics Elizabeth Dunn (UBC) and Michael Norton (Harvard) tell us something different: how best to spend the money we have. Their answer is delivered in five chatty chapters, each with a central point to help us spend smarter and become happier: Buy ExperiencesMake It A TreatBuy TimePay Now, Consume LaterInvest In OthersIn the first chapter the authors tell us that experiences, even somewhat negative experiences, are looked back upon fondly, while material goods produce some fleeting pleasure but very quickly become immaterial to our happiness. This point is central to their book. In the third chapter they offer ways to increase free time - but careful here, some time savers can actually increase stress - and then suggestions about how best to spend that newfound free time. Prefaced by a bit of their trademark chatty humour, Dunn and Norton write, ”If you awaken happiness researchers in the middle of the night and ask them to tell you (quick!) what matters most for human well-being, you'll get the same response: get the hell out of my house. After they calm down, though, we're pretty sure they'll agree on the answer: social relationships." Buy experiences, and use your time to socialize with (or help) others. Happy Money has a light-hearted style and made me laugh out loud at times. It is also based on rigorous research and each point is well footnoted. The real power of Dunn and Norton's book is that it assembles such a broad range of academic insight into a well organized, focused and easily digestible whole. It's not difficult to find suggestions about how to spend our money - advertisements surround us - and there's no shortage of research tidbits or highlights in the media, but without first the filter and second the framework supplied by the authors, it is difficult for the average person to sort the information into something useful. Full marks. Hilarious book with a lot of great lessons on how to spend money.Fave clips:The % of trips taken in the US that use public transit, walking, or biking? 11% (89% are by car)What matters the most for human well-being? Social relationships.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. There is a danger to time-saving products. Their widespread availability may spur us to buy things, from two-in-one shampoo to the McSalad Shaker, that are designed to shave minutes off activities we might otherwise enjoy, like taking hot showers and eating fresh food.People who feel pressed for time have difficulty staying in the moment. People who feel they have plenty of free time are more likely to exercise, do volunteer work, and participate in other activities that are linked to increased happiness.When couples do novel, exciting things together, the relationship itself feels novel an exciting. Novelty can inoculate long-term relationships against boredom, and boredom turns out to be a surprisingly potent force that can chip away at even the strongest relationships.
What do You think about Happy Money: The Science Of Smarter Spending (2013)?
Good book to read, inspiring ideas. well written and organised. I would not read it again.
—sinai
Great information here, but the presentation is bo-ring. Also, very short.
—katerbug32
A really interesting way to think about your money and time!
—gunslingeraura
