How Money Can Make You Happy

Money does not equal happiness. We know that.

However, it turns out, spending money in certain ways can actually make you happier. Think money spent on a family vacation, or saving up for something really special.

Here is a great article from the New York Times about Money and Happiness, with some great insights about the kind of spending that adds to our happiness. I particularly liked the description it gives of the"buzz" we get from buying things. We feel great, and then the we get used to whatever it is, and so we buy something else.

But Will It Make You Happy?

Finding a Happy Money Medium

I just read a great post titled The Balance Between Splurger and Miser. It's from one of our favorite sites, Get Rich Slowly. April Dykman writes about how she has struggled with money, first spending money she didn't have, and then later almost refusing to spend at all, even though she had money to spare. Now she's finding a happy medium. Everyone should read it.

Dykman's post is a reminder that money is not just something to keep or lose. It is a way of expressing our priorities. If we truly value something, maybe we should spend more on it. (And we can always cut back on things we care less about.)

At the end of her post, she makes a list of things that are important to her, things that are worth a little extra.

My list would include eating healthy food, having supplies to build and create, helping people, and visiting family, among others.

What would you include? Does your spending reflect the things that are most important to you?

Who is Responsible for the Family Budget?

For the greatest happiness and productivity in life, both husband and wife are needed. Their efforts interlock and are complementary. Each has individual traits that best fit the role the Lord has defined for happiness as a man or woman. When used as the Lord intends, those capacities allow a married couple to think, act, and rejoice as one[.]

Richard G. Scott, The Joy of Living the Great Plan of Happiness

In the family where I grew up, my father did the finances. In Jeremy's family, his mother did them. So, naturally, when we got married each of us hoped the other would do them.

It took us a long time to figure out who would be responsible for our money.

In the meantime, we had a budget, but we didn't follow it well or keep detailed records. Bills got paid on time, usually, but we spent more and saved less than we should have.

Fortunately, Jeremy stepped up and decided we needed to put together a better system. Every family is different, but here is what works for us:

1. Jeremy set up budgeting software and makes sure it is working correctly.

2. I go through our expenses every week online and label them with the proper budget category.

3. Jeremy pays online bills.

4. I pay bills that require writing a check.

5. Together, we discuss the budget and make changes as needed.

6. Jeremy files taxes.

7. I deposit most checks.

8. Jeremy manages our investments and keeps me informed.

9. Both of us are responsible for staying within budget.

Investing

Alpine man accused of widespread investment scam

Read the article. It should have been obvious to anyone investing that the profits involved were a bit unreal. The very obvious Ponzi structure should also have been a tip-off.

We can easily be blinded when there is an offer of so much money to be made - and it seems so easy.

Just as Judas used his position of trust to steal from the church, there are even some in the Church who use positions of trust to convince others to join them:

Man accused in $20 million Ponzi scheme involving Utahns

Apostles and Prophets have repeatedly warned against this sort of problem, as in a recent letter from the First Presidency of the Church.

After recommending avoiding debt and living within our means, they recommend that "Consideration should also be given to investing wisely with responsible and established financial institutions."

For me, this means that I don't invest my money with friends and family, even if I trust them. I stick to an established investment firm with low-maintenance accounts.

Since savings accounts and checking accounts offer, at best, interest that doesn't even cover the cost of inflation, it makes sense once we have enough extra money saved to move some into stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

There are many companies that provide this type of service. We use the one we do because it offers the features we need.

1. It only requires $3000 to open an account, with no annual fees if I receive my statements by e-mail.
2. We can choose between a variety of mutual funds, targeting different levels of risk tolerance.
3. I can have part of each paycheck automatically deposited into the account and invested into whichever funds I want. Basically, I only have to even look at it every few months.

Basically, I'm using the type of "Lazy Investing" described in an article on Get Rich Slowly: "The Lazy Way to Investment Success".

When we enter into high-risk, unrealistically high-yield or high-maintenance investments, we can begin to focus so much on money that we may begin to indulge in the "Love of money".

We don't want to make the foolish mistake of the man who buried his money in the ground, but nor should we become people who seek first for money.

"But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God." Jacob, 2:18

Also see 2 Nephi 2:26, Are You Honest to the Core? (Ensign, February 1990)