The Happiness Project

Gretchen Rubin explores the idea of money and how it attributes to happiness in the seventh chapter of her book “The Happiness Project.” Money and how it relates to happiness has been one of the most complexing and confusing concept that has kept many reputable individuals up at night pondering the question at hand. According to author Gertrude Stein, each person must find out for themselves that money is money and what it means to that individual. Money has many uses such as purchasing basic needs, personal security, generosity, recognition, and keeping score in life. Gretchen talks about how it’s important to spend more instead of spending less on occasion to help fill personal needs or wants, as well as improving the lives of others,

The first thing that I really liked was her approach to the idea of how people spend money differently and the terms she uses. I would consider myself to be an underbuyer as well as a maximizer. This may seem like an odd combination, but as I read these are the two categories that I would place myself in based on my shopping habits. For example, when I needed printer ink, I put off buying the ink because it was expensive and felt that I could utilize online resources to help delay putting the money out for ink. As for my maximizer shopping habits, I can never make a purchase without doing extensive research. It took me over two weeks to find a laptop after my old one broke. I visited every Staples and Best Buy in the area as well as looking at multiple websites before finally making a decision. As for my brother, he would’ve seen a laptop and bought it because it could go on the internet. Also, I have buyer’s remorse whereas my brother does not; he will buy anything without feeling a thing whereas I feel sick after a big purchase. I found the vast differences between the two of us very interesting because it related directly back to Stein’s quote in the beginning. I also realized how much spending on others can attribute to my own happiness; last Mother’s Day, I bought my Mom a frame with a message from my brother and I engraved around a picture of my family together. Looking back on this situation really made me think about how happy I was seeing the look on her face, even though that small token couldn’t show how much I appreciated everything she has done for me. Another thing that I liked in this chapter was her constant reference to “money” in other terms such as time and resources. One point Rubin makes is the idea that money allows for time spent with loved ones, which she exhibits through the