Money Can Buy Happiness

As a student I always hated giving book reports. In my later years, I seldom read a book worth recommending except to say "this book is hilarious," or "what a terrific mystery - the author had me going right up to the last page." This time, however, I have read a book that has a message so timely that I want to share it with anyone that hasn't already learned this lesson.
The book is Money Can Buy Happiness, by M.P. Dunleavy. As you may have guessed, we are reminded that newer and better stuff will not make us happier people. How then can we use the limited financial resources we have to "buy happiness"?

First, pay off debt. Being in debt is a huge stressor and drain on happiness. There are many resources available to help with this step. Spend less than you earn.

Invest in yourself through education, formal or informal. The more you know or can do, the more interesting the world around you becomes.

Invest in your health. Eat well, get plenty of exercise, see your dentist regularly, and get those diagnostic screenings that we all detest. A healthy lifestyle has great payoffs down the road.

Invest in relationships. When all is said and done, it is the people in your life that really matter.
Set aside time to date your spouse, play games with your kids, cultivate shared interests.

Invest in fun. Go dancing. Be silly. Laugh.

Invest in your retirement. Take advantage of your 401.K opportunities, build an IRA, learn about investments and investing. No one wants to feel that they must work until they die or depend entirely on Social Security. You will do your kids no favors by having a good college fund saved for them if you will have to depend on those same kids in your old age for financial support.

Invest in your happiness by giving to those in need. Volunteer your time to build homes or serve at a soup kitchen. Donate money if your cause if far away or if time does not permit, but giving of yourself to those less fortunate generates a happiness like none other.

Money management has always been a big deal with me. I learned frugality from a mother who grew up more destitute than most during the Depression. I got to apply what I learned in a big way years ago I was a newlywed with a well-paying job and a husband with the same, and a brand new home with a 30-year mortgage based on both incomes. Before we ever moved into the house, I found myself pregnant and determined to be a stay-at-home mom. Priorities shifted in a hurry. Fourteen years later we had no debt, the mortgage was paid off, we both had fully funded IRA's, and the college fund was going strong. We did not have a ton of money. We just used what we had very deliberately. I'm proud of this accomplishment and want to share what I've learned with anyone I can possibly help.

I enjoyed this book because it reinforced some things I already knew, and gave me some good ideas to implement in the near future. It may not seem that eating right or saving for retirement are much fun, but losing one's health to poor habits or being dependent on the charity of others through poor planning are no fun at all. I've seen it. You've seen it. We don't want to go there, do we?