I thought you would enjoy this Meg Faber podcast while you were on one of those long summer drives with your family. It could lead to some great conversation too! Lots of thought-provoking wisdom from Elizabeth Dunn, co-author of the 2014 best-seller Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending. In the podcast, she discusses new research into behavioral finance that she summarizes into five core principles that may make you think differently about how money can “buy” happiness:

1. Buy Experiences: may be more fleeting than buying material possessions but the memories can be…..priceless (apologies to Mastercard)
2. Make it a Treat: intermittent rewards for yourself create more happiness since less likely to take things for granted 
3. Buy Time: spend your money to enable you to have time to do the things you love to do
4. Pay Now, Consume Later: opposite of the credit-driven culture we live in where you consume now and [hope to be able to] pay later
5. Invest in Others: spending to help others makes us feel better than spending on ourselves

One of the best Meb Faber quotes that resonated with me was, “Show me your bank account transactions and your calendar and I will tell you what your priorities are.” Both time and money are limited resources in our lives. We better think intentionally about how we are using them to ensure that they match what we are hoping to accomplish in our lives.”

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

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If you liked this podcast, you might also enjoy this NGPF podcast with Berkeley’s behavioral finance professor Terry Odean who will describe how to overcome our behavioral tics to be a better investor.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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