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    All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending
    All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending
    All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending
    Audiobook7 hours

    All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending

    Written by Laura Vanderkam

    Narrated by Karen Saltus

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    How happy would you be if you had all the money in the world? The universal lament about money is that there is never enough. We spend endless hours obsessing over our budgets and investments, trying to figure out ways to stretch every dollar. We try to follow the advice of money gurus and financial planners, then kick ourselves whenever we spend too much or save too little. For all of the stress and effort we put into every choice, why are most of us unhappy about our finances?

    According to Laura Vanderkam, 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 build a better life for yourself and the people you care about.

    For instance, the average couple spends $5,000 on engagement and wedding rings, making these pricey purchases largely because everyone else does. But what if you decided to spend $300 on rings and apply the rest to future date nights, weekend getaways, and thinking-of-you bouquets over the next ten years? In he long run, what would bring more joy to your marriage? Likewise, will owning a home with a pristine lawn and a two-car garage-the American Dream-really make you more satisfied? Or are you saving up for this investment just because financial planners tell you it's worth it?

    Vanderkam shows how each of us can figure out better ways to use what we have to build the lives we want. Drawing on the latest happiness research as well as the stories of dozens of real people, Vanderkam offers a contrarian approach that forces us to examine our own beliefs, goals, and values.

    Among her advice:

    Laugh at the Joneses: It's human nature to compare yourself to those around you, but you can create lifestyle hat rings you personal satisfaction without copying your neighbors.
    Give yourself the best weekend ever: Studies show that experiences often bring more pleasure than material goods. With a little planning and creativity, you can give yourself a memorable getaway without leaving town or going broke.
    Embrace the selfish joy of giving: Giving back not only helps you build karma, it also helps you build a community-which is much more fulfilling than a tax deduction. All the Money in the World is a practical and inspiring guide that shows how money can buy happiness-if we spend it wisely.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAscent Audio
    Release dateMar 20, 2012
    ISBN9781469000459
    All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending
    Author

    Laura Vanderkam

    Laura Vanderkam is a contributing editor at Reader's Digest and is the coauthor of Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting Our Brightest Young Minds. She lives with her husband in New York City.

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    Reviews for All the Money in the World

    3.5/5

    37 ratings3 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Very US oriented, mainly for women. I would save a 20% and the minimalism part.

      Money can buy happiness? I am not really convinced at the end
    • 3/5
      What would you do if you had all the money in the world - not literally, but all you wanted - what would you change about your life? Laura Vanderkam is contemplating getting, spending, and sharing money in her book All The Money In The World - the main premise being that you can buy happiness!Sharing her own experiences and those of people who one day decided they'd rather spend their money on this instead of that, the book will not advise you on how to safe money, but instead encourage you to reconsider just how to spend it to make your life happier. Admittedly I liked the underlying idea from the start. If I had the choice I'd rather travel the world for the money a diamond ring would cost, and I'm sure my adventures would make me happier than that ring could.Smoothly and quite entertainingly written the book luckily does not read as if it came straight from the self-help section of a bookstore. On the downside, there's also a lot of statistics and fluff which I ended up finding a bit distracting. Vanderkamp is often rambling on and already half way through I got the feeling that an essay would have been sufficient to communicate the essence of the whole book. Still, don't let this discourage you, because the intriguing idea presented here is definitely worth exploring!In short: How would you spend money to take a step towards a happier life?
    • 5/5
      All the Money in the World is a thoughtful series of essays on earning and using money to maximize your happiness. It’s full of interesting thought experiments, facts, and questions that will make you think about money in ways you never have before. The writing is great, reminding me of Malcolm Gladwell’s many books or Mirroring People, and definitely meeting my criteria that it be clear and concise. Although the chapters could be read as stand-alone essays, the interesting topic kept me reading one after another. My favorite parts were the fascinating personal anecdotes, but it was also important to me that the author cited research studies to back up her advice. Finally, there are actionable suggestions throughout which are collected into a useful worksheet at the end of the book. This was exactly what I look for in a self-help book – interesting, research-based, well-written, and useful.