Happy Money summary

Food costs money. Clothes are expensive. Taxes can’t be avoided. Unless you live on a self-sufficient farm, off the grid and somehow under the federal radar, you can’t avoid spending money to live.

So instead of treating it as a chore, how can we spend money so it makes us happier?

Would it surprise you to hear that most Londoners have never visited Big Ben? Even though this historic landmark is just a subway-ride away, locals just don’t seem to bother.

This phenomenon illustrates a tendency in human behavior: when something is abundantly or easily available to us, we appreciate it less.

It’s said that money is the root of all that’s evil, but really, there’s nothing intrinsically evil about money itself. Money can be very helpful, giving us more time to pursue our passions.

Having money can help you save time by outsourcing chores, for example, such as house cleaning to a service provider, so you don’t have to dust and mop yourself.

Check your wallet: How many credit cards do you have? We all have a few, perhaps too many.

The attitude of “consume now, pay later” is widespread; we expect to be able to buy what we want immediately and then worry about the bills later.

So far we‘ve seen how you can best spend money on yourself to increase your own happiness. But in fact, an even more powerful generator of happiness is to spend money on others!

We all have an innate need to give, and satisfying it makes us happy.  This need can be observed in children as young as two years old, and across all countries and cultures.

We’ve covered a number of principles on how you can spend your money to become happier. Now, let’s examine how you can apply these principles in your everyday life.

First, be aware that these principles aren’t mutually exclusive: apply as many of them as possible for the maximum boost to your happiness.