Tag Archives: Happiness

Money, Happiness and Our Vision for 2015

The end of a year is often a time for reflection. What are we thankful for? What challenges did we face last year? What do we want from the coming year for ourselves, our family and our community? Often the short answer is that we want to be happy. We want those we love to be happy. A simple, common word that can be hard to explain, because while Webster’s dictionary may define it as ‘having, displaying, or marked by pleasure or joy,” ultimately we must each define how we achieve happiness for ourselves.

When we founded the Women’s Financial Learning Centre (WFLC) and Money Coaches Canada (MCC), our vision was, and still is, to help Canadians do much more than pay down debt and plan for retirement. We want our clients to achieve a level of financial well-being and contentment they never thought possible. Continue reading

Can money make you happy? Try giving some away.

By Kathryn Mandelcorn, FMA

Money Coaches Canada Giving and happiness

Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843. Most people know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly man who transforms his life after three spirits teach him the joy of giving. It seems Dickens was way ahead of the research on money and happiness.

Dr. Elizabeth Dunn an associate professor of psychology at University of British Columbia and Michael Norton an associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School wrote an article in which they say their research has shown that “people with a comfortable living standard are happier than people living in poverty.” But once people reach a “comfortable standard” of income, which falls somewhere around $75,000 a year in the United States, additional income doesn’t create additional happiness. Continue reading