Happy go money Spend smart, save right & enjoy life

Melissa Leong

Book - 2019

"The Social's finance expert connects money and happiness in this fresh, feel-good guide to financial well-being Everything tells us that what will make us happy can be bought, whether it's the latest gadgets, renovated kitchens, or luxury goods. But research has shown that having more money in the bank and more stuff around the house doesn't necessarily correlate with being a happier person. With Happy Go Money, financial expert Melissa Leong cuts through the noise to show you how to get the most delight for your dollar. Happy Go Money combines happiness psychology and personal finance and distills it into an indispensable starter guide. Each snappy chapter provides practical, easy-to-understand advice on topics such as... spending, budgeting, investing, and mindfulness, while weaving in research, interactive exercises, and relatable anecdotes. Frank, funny, and empowering, this primer challenges everyone to revamp their relationship with their money so they can dial down their worries and supersize their joy."--

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Subjects
Published
Toronto, Ontario : ECW Press [2019]
Language
English
Main Author
Melissa Leong (author)
Physical Description
xiii, 288 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781770414723
  • Introduction
  • Buying Happiness
  • 1. Banking on Happiness
  • 2. F*ck the Joneses
  • 3. More Stuff? Stuff It
  • 4. Buying Happiness (for Real)
  • Check Yourself Before You Wreck Your Wealth
  • 5. Watch Your Friggin' Language
  • 6. Worries B-Gone
  • 7. Your Default Settings
  • 8. Sorry Not Sorry
  • Feel Like a Million Bucks (For Free)
  • 9. Train Your Happy Ninja
  • 10. Invoke the Dollar Lama
  • 11. Invest in Bonds
  • 12. Eat, Play Snooze
  • Take Stock, Make Gains
  • 13. Balance the Bills and Thrills
  • 14. Check Your Worth
  • 15. Goal Digger
  • Happiness for Later
  • 16. Save Right
  • 17. Make That Money Work
  • 18. Make the Silver Fox Happy
  • 19. Hooking Up with a Financial Advisor
  • Make it Rain
  • 20. Show Me the Money
  • 21. Happy Hustling
  • 22. Couch Cushion Cash
  • Happiness Assassins
  • 23. Debt: The Big Killjoy
  • 24. Bulletproof Your Happiness
  • The Life-Changing Magic of Giving a Buck
  • 25. Give to Get
  • Happy Ending
  • Connect With Me
  • Resources
  • Acknowledgements
  • Index
  • About the Author
Review by Booklist Review

Leong, money expert on popular Canadian talk show The Social, combines personal-finance advice with psychological studies as she considers how to achieve happiness. She makes seemingly intimidating topics, like learning about compound interest, investing in bonds, choosing an insurance plan, and finding a financial advisor, approachable by using her own life to illustrate her practical tips, and she helpfully directs readers to both U.S. and Canadian resources. In addition to finance, she discusses the importance of sufficient sleep and a healthy diet and the value of mindfulness meditation. She shares real-life ways to pay down debt and prepare financially for retirement and proposes spending money on experiences rather than things, giving charitably, and buying time as paths to happiness. The book closes with a resources section which includes recommended books, podcasts, apps, and online tools. Leong's breezy, relatable writing style will appeal to a broad range of readers.--Caren Nichter Copyright 2018 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

The magic number We all need a certain amount of money to be happy. But how much? For those of us who are on the verge of losing our homes, who fret about feeding our children, who cringe when the phone rings because debt collectors may be calling, without question, more money will make us happier. But for the rest of us, before connecting cash with joy, we need to talk about what we mean by "happy." Scientists in neuroeconomics (the study of how we make economic decisions) break happiness into two types: Life satisfaction: an evaluation of your well-being as a whole (the kind of happy where you're pleased with life in general). Day-to-day mood: the highs and lows, the joy, stress, sadness, anger and affection that you experience from one moment to the next -- how you feel today, how you felt yesterday (the kind of happy that most of us relate to -- the right now happiness). With life satisfaction, the richer people got, the more satisfied they were with their lives. In worldwide studies, people in richer countries reported higher life satisfaction than those in poorer countries. (We should also consider that wealthier countries are more politically stable, more peaceful and less oppressive -- which affects well-being.) But according to a 2018 Purdue University study, there was a limit. That figure is $95,000 U.S. (pre-tax, per single-family household). After that, more money didn't mean that you were more satisfied. With day-to-day happiness, the threshold is $60,000 to $75,000 per household, according to various studies. The 2018 study showed that after these salaries are hit, life satisfaction and day-to-day happiness actually slightly decrease with more money. What the what? Well, apparently when all of our basic needs are met, we become driven by other desires such as chasing after more material stuff and comparing ourselves to others which makes us unhappy. Also, high incomes can come with high demands (more working hours, more stress and less time with family and for leisure). This doesn't mean that we should all go out and try to make exactly $75,000 US a year - our so-called feel-good financial sweet spot. The studies are averages and we all need different things to be happy. But ALL of us find joy in some simple things -- kisses, laughter, getting IDed after the age of 25. Marketing professor Hal Hershfield once told me: "Even if I have an amazing car in my driveway, a huge house and a big fat income, that doesn't necessarily mean that I'll be happier on a day-by-day basis because the types of things that influence happiness are who I interact with, how I spend my time and the things that I do." Think of some of your happiest times in the past week. Were you spending it with people? Were you taking time to enjoy an activity, going for a run or catching up with a good friend? Would a wad of cash have made those moments that much better? Probably not. If you answered "yes" to the latter question, how much more then do you need to be happy? Read on. Excerpted from Happy Go Money: Spend Smart, Save Right and Enjoy Life by Melissa Leong All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.