The Ten Commandments of Financial Happiness - Feel Richer with What You've Got

Informationen zum Autor Jean Chatzky Klappentext Millions of Americans have turned to Jean Chatzky for financial advice, thanks to her weekly appearances on NBC's Today and her column in Money magazine. Now, in The Ten Commandments of Financial Happiness (published in hardcover as You Don't Have to Be Rich), she analyzes the results of a unique survey in which she questioned 1,500 Americans about their financial attitudes and behaviors. She looks at how much money people actually do need to guarantee a happy, comfortable life. And gets down to the nitty-gritty, isolating behaviors that-if adopted-can significantly improve a life. The results of this proprietary survey-conducted with the help of the Roper Center-are remarkable. Chatzky found that while a certain amount of money buys comfort, money can't make you happy-at least not in the way most people believe it can. But it can make you miserable, if you're managing it wrong. That's why it's time to make a change. In her frank, engaging style, Chatzky explains how to "own your money" to create a happy and comfortable life. She outlines the financial habits of happy people and shows how anyone can be a part of this group, no matter what they earn. Filled with fresh insights and real life examples, The Ten Commandments of Financial Happiness reaffirms that finances don't have to be a source of stress and that living within your means can be extremely rewarding. Do you have to be rich to be happy? Would being richer make you happier? Does money buy happiness? Take Back Your Financial Life It's time to take back our lives. And in order to do that we need to take back our money. Not just the manner in which we manage it by learning, once again, to live within our means (however modest or expansive those means happen to be). We need to regain our financial power if we feel we've ceded it. Or to grab hold of that power, even if we've never paid much attention to it in the past. And we need to do it in a way that will allow us to feel good—not compromised, not guilty, not second-rate—but good, happy, smart, and confident about our choices. But how? If you've watched me on television or read my columns, you know I'm all about the tactical and practical. I look for real solutions to all sorts of money problems, and then I want to see data that prove to me that the solutions work. Where money and happiness were concerned, useful data didn't exist. There was a bounty of research showing that, indeed, money wasn't the key to lifetime happiness (although it did have a role to play). But when I started looking for lists of behaviors and habits, things you could actually alter in your lives that would positively impact your relationship with money, I found nothing. So I went looking for those answers myself. At the end of 2002, with the help and support of Money magazine, RoperASW conducted extensive proprietary research for this book. The goal was to figure out, first, what influence money has over an individual's overall happiness; second, what habits, attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge separate those people who are satisfied with their financial lives from those who are not; and third, what effect changing those habits, attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge might have on a person's life. The results were staggering. Of course, money plays a role in the happiness equation. To try to deny that link would be disingenuous, not to mention unbelievable. But it's not as strong a link—as big a contributing factor—in your happiness as you might think. Moreover, money can be a bigger cause of unhappiness than many other factors in your life. Let me say that again: Even when it's working in your favor, money can't make you completely happy. But it can—without a doubt—make you miserable. Our study examined nine factors that contribute to a person's general happiness: things like a marriage or anoth...

Dettagli sul prodotto

• Autori: Jean Chatzky, Jean Sherman Chatzky
• Editore: Portfolio
• Lingue: Inglese
• Formato: Tascabile
• Pubblicazione: 04.01.2005
• EAN: 9781591840718
• ISBN: 978-1-59184-071-8
• Pagine: 256
• Dimensioni: 139 mm x 210 mm x 15 mm
• Categoria: Guide e manuali > Diritto, professione, finanze