Happy Money: Get More Happiness Per Dollar

You value a dollar or you wouldn't be reading this. What if you could make every dollar spent on your house, your marriage and your hobbies more valuable to you for about two dollars and just three hours a month? Even better, it might help you uncover hidden wallet busters and keep you from buying new things you don't need.

We often acquire things and then give little more thought about them until they break down or stop meeting our needs. Any sense of wonder or joy in our new acquisition is quickly washed away by thoughts of getting the next new thing. By living this way, we are wasting huge amount of happiness. We can change this by investing just five minutes a day and then thirty minutes once month. The only monetary cost will be a notebook and a pencil.

The First Two Minutes

Get out your notebook write the date and make a quick list of all the things you are grateful for going into that day. This isn't a journal or diary, just a list. If you love your morning coffee just write coffee. If it's a TV show you are looking forward watching, just write the name of it. Don't forget about the people that make life matter either, put their names on the list. When you first start doing this you might find that you have about a minute and half left when you are done. Keep at it. Your goal should be to get to a point where you have to beat the clock to get everything down.

The Third Minute

This minute is actually broken up into one or two second blocks. For this minute, you just offer a sincere "thank you" every time you encounter something or someone that makes your life better. Don't just use the words. Think about what you are saying. This isn't a totally selfless thing to do. Sure other people appreciate it, but it also reminds you that you just got something worth being grateful for. This will be very useful when it comes to spending the last two minutes of the day.

The Last Two Minutes

Take two quite moments of reflection at the end of the day to go back to your list. Write down all the good things you didn't expect. Draw a line through the things that disappointed. This can be tricky. By marking through something or (eek) a name you are not making a negative judgment. Think of these as items that need more attention to get the most from them.

Thirty Minutes A Month

Once a moth, take a half hour to yourself and go back over your lists for the last thirty days. Look for patterns. The results might surprise you. You may find yourself consistently disappointed by something you thought you really liked. If you see 'job' crossed out twenty five times, this might mean investing more in your current work, or finding something with a better return. Also, take time to consider what's missing from the list and make mental note to put those things on next month.

Doing this for a while will give you good idea of how what things in your life are actually valuable to you -- they might not be what you thought. The most important thing when using this list is not seeing those crossed out items as negatives. Think in terms of what you can do to keep them on the list without the line before you give them up. This can help you optimize your current spending and guide you as to what to spend money on in the future.