Maximizing the return on your investment–happiness included
Hi, I’m Maggie, and I’ll be contributing to the Penge Snak blog on Vaerdi. I am interested in personal finance, consumer behavior and living life to the fullest within my means…and in fitting with my financial goals.
So it was fitting this past Sunday to come across an article in the New York Times about the relationship between happiness and spending. The article discusses that while having more money makes people happier to a point, we gain more happiness from an experience than “buying plain old stuff,” and that we derive happiness not only from the purchase but also from the anticipation of that experience.
For me, this article is really about having a financial plan and setting financial goals. By setting financial goals we not only make it easier to achieve them by creating a road map on how to get there, but we also benefit from the anticipation of the reward. This goal could be anything from taking a vacation this spring to get a dose of sunshine or planning for retirement in thirty-some years (gasp!). Either way, the anticipation of these experiences will give you an important non-financial return on your investment–happiness now and later.
Personal finance, Uncategorized | Lamaggi | 
1:45 pm
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By thomas, August 12, 2010 @ 8:12 am
Welcome to Penge Snak Maggie! Looking forward to many good conversations!