Embracing small pleasures in life is more fulfilling than material stuff. I agree with Laura Vanderkam’s view, featured in Forbes; talking about her book “All the Money in the World: What The Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending“.
Forget about that so-called “Latte Factor”. Go ahead make your day. Grab that that cup of latte, if you feel like it. Sip and enjoy one of those small simple pleasures in life.
Laura Vanderkam’s book is about using money to seek happiness. According to her, the key is to change your perspective. Instead of looking at money as a scarce resource, consider it a tool that you can use creatively to have a better life for yourself and the people you care about. Vanderkam said in a recent podcast interview, it is all these small, repeated pleasures, like dinners out with friends, parties, enjoying a great cup of coffee are the bread and butter of human happiness. These are a key component of happiness. Rather than trying to restrain yourself which is painful because it requires self-discipline.
Of course Vanderkam does talk about saving as well. It’s not all about senseless spending. Similarly to what Ramit Sethi’s “I Teach You To Be Rich“, instead of thinking of ways to save, think of ways to earn more. Focus on big wins and not penny pinching.
She suggested that one can always reduce those unnecessary status symbols. Things like big fancy house, flashy car or over-priced designer clothes. According a psychology research, these people who go for expensive stuff, they quickly become used to their new, fancy purchases, and over time, they lose the enjoyment.
So if you really want to use your money to buy happiness,” she says it’s better off spending less on the expensive items, for instance your house or less on transportation. And use the money to give yourself lots of small little pleasures in life.
Author Vanderkam also talks helping your community and examines your own values.
If you can, grab your cup of latte and the book “All the Money in the World: What The Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending” and learn how to achieve true happiness. This 10-chapter book is a great guide that shows how money can buy happiness—if we spend it wisely.
“Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don’t collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don’t really mean anything.” – Norman Lear
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