by Joe Hearn | Sep 18, 2012 | Happiness, Hobbies, Pursuits, Retirement
When I was in college, I rented my body to science so I could have enough money to buy groceries. There was a medical testing facility not far from my apartment and they would pay you around $500 to check in on Friday, check out on Sunday and allow them to test some new wonder drug on you in the interim. I didn’t have much in those years (as you’ve probably already deduced), but I was happy.
After graduating, I was able to leverage my finance degree into a career that no longer required me to spend my weekends subjecting myself to Hunter S. Thompson style pharmacological testing. I got married and moved into a nicer apartment. We eventually moved into a house and continued down the path of pursuing the “American Dream.”
Given that little bit of information, you’d think I would be happier now than I was 20 years ago, but that’s not really the case. I’m happy for sure, but my level of happiness doesn’t seem to have grown in tandem with my standard of living. I was happy then and I’m happy now.
Behavioral psychologists refer to this phenomenon as the hedonic (or happiness) treadmill. It is our tendency to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite changes to our standard of living. Basically, our expectations rise in tandem with our income. The more we have, the more we think we need.
Because we want to be happy, we (somewhat predictably) deal with the hedonic treadmill by constantly upgrading our “stuff.” We buy the new iPhone, television or car and it makes us happier for awhile, but we eventually get used to those things so we upgrade to the next gadget or gizmo. The more we have, the tougher it is to move the needle on our happiness meter. We run faster and faster without really getting anywhere.
Is there a way to get off the treadmill and actually derive some lasting happiness from the resources that we’ve been blessed with? Yes, according to behavioral finance expert Dan Ariely. “The best way to maximize happiness is to spend money on things you won’t get used to,” he says. Here are three examples:
Travel: I’ve written before that it’s better to spend your retirement dollars on experiences instead of assets. After learning about the hedonic treadmill, I understand why. We quickly get used to stuff, but the happiness that comes from experiences sticks with us long after the stuff has gone to the Goodwill. Travel is a great example of a purchase that has a longer happiness shelf life. As Ariely says: “If you’re deciding between a sofa and a vacation, go for the vacation. You’ll quickly get used to the sofa, but the vacation will bring long-lasting memories.”
Learning: Another way to spend your money on things that result in longer-term happiness is to invest in learning. For example, signing up for tennis lessons or learning to play an instrument will likely yield more lasting happiness than if you spent those same dollars on a new flat-screen T.V. Learning something new will keep you challenged and will give you a sense of accomplishment. It will also give you a skill that will stick with you. If you’ve been around here for awhile, you know that we’re big on learning here at Intentional Retirement. Follow along with our learning challenges or start one of your own to boost your happiness quotient.
Relationships: One of the side effects of a stuff heavy life is less time for your spouse, kids, grandkids and friends. How so? Everything we own requires some of our time and money. Columnist Ellen Goodman described it this way: “Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to the job that you need so you can pay for the clothes, car and the house that you leave empty all day in order to afford to live in it.”
Rather than being a slave to your stuff, focus your time and resources on building relationships instead. Go on regular dates with your spouse. Take the grandkids fishing. Go on a guy’s (or girl’s) trip with your friends. Those things cost money, but they will pay dividends for years to come.
How about you? Are you stuck on the hedonic treadmill? If so, think about how you can start spending your money in ways that will actually bring more lasting happiness.
Joe
Note: See Part 1 of the Happiness Series here.
by Joe Hearn | Sep 11, 2012 | Misc.
Do you remember where you were 11 years ago on September 11, 2001? I was on an airplane. In hindsight, not the best place to be.
You see, my grandpa is a huge Chicago Cubs fan. One day we were talking baseball and I said “We should go to Wrigley sometime for a game.”
Since he was pretty frugal and, to my knowledge, had only been on an airplane one other time in his life (to my wedding in Alaska), I expected some resistance. “Too expensive,” he said.
“What if I found us a deal?” I asked. That got his interest, probably because his instinct for a deal was second only to his instinct to spend nothing whatsoever. I asked him how much he’d be willing to spend on tickets to a game. He thought about it and said it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so he’d be willing to spend up to $25 per seat so we could get really good seats.
I thought that was a fair price, assuming we could find a time machine that would transport us back to 1950s Chicago, so I told him I would handle it.
I bought the tickets (see above) from a season ticket holder for $250, booked our airfare and lined up a hotel. I told him I was able find a good deal, so I would cover the costs, but he insisted on giving me $28 for his ticket (the face amount printed on each ticket). A few weeks later we were on a plane to Chicago. We landed at O’Hare and boarded the ‘L’ to take us into town.
While on the train, the passenger across from us got a call on his cell phone. When he hung up he told us “That was my wife. She said a plane just hit the World Trade Center.”
The picture in my mind was of a Cessna getting off course and hitting one of the towers, so we didn’t really think that much more about it. When we got into town we hailed a cab and realized that it was much more than a small plane. The driver had the radio on and the announcer was saying that both towers had been hit by commercial airplanes and that unconfirmed reports were coming in that there were other planes in the air that were not responding and possibly heading for Washington, D.C.
We got to our hotel and no rooms were available because no one was checking out, so we walked around the corner to a restaurant to grab some breakfast. Several televisions were on, but the tables facing them were full, so we took a seat over in the corner. A loud gasp alerted us when the first building fell.
I tried to call my wife, but the circuits were jammed. I finally got through later that morning and let her know that we were ok. The games were obviously cancelled and all flights were grounded. There wasn’t a rental car anywhere to be found in the city and several people in our hotel actually went to car dealerships and bought cars so they could get home.
Each day we would walk to the rental car office and wait in line in hopes that there would a car. By the time we got one, our two day trip had turned into five and we came home to a much different world than the one we had left just a few days earlier.
Thousands of people had died senselessly, our country would be in two different wars within a short period of time and the events of that Tuesday in September would have a profound impact on the world for years to come.
The time we have in this life is exceedingly short. You never know when a terrible tragedy, a frightening diagnosis or an unforeseen circumstance is going to come along and make it even shorter. As you think back to that day eleven years ago, use it as a reminder to be intentional with each day that you’re given.
~Joe
by Joe Hearn | Sep 7, 2012 | Retirement
Earlier this week I noticed that the post counter in my blogging software was about to hit 100.
Since that seemed like something of a milestone, I thought I’d take a quick look back and give you what I think are 10 key posts from the first 100. For those of you who have been with me since the beginning, it will be a good review. For those of you who found us more recently, it will be a chance to read something that you may have missed.
Visit the Archives Page to scroll through the entire list of articles. Also, if you read something that is helpful or encouraging to you, pass it on to a friend. Great ideas spread thanks to people like you.
Thanks for reading. On to the next 100.
~ Joe
by Joe Hearn | Sep 4, 2012 | Health
“Stuff You Should Know” is one of my favorite podcasts. Hosted by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, the show educates you on the basics of just about any topic in around 30 minutes.
I was listening to the episode on coffee recently when Josh mentioned that one of the side effects of a good cup of Joe is that it can help reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
As I’m sure you know, Alzheimer’s is one of those nasty diseases where we don’t really understand the cause and there is no cure. One in 8 older Americans has Alzheimer’s and it’s the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.
Nothing can ruin retirement faster than a fatal diagnosis, so if there’s something I can do to minimize my chances of getting an incurable, brain-wasting disease, I’m all ears.
While there is no silver bullet, foods that are high in certain vitamins (B, C, D, and E), antioxidants, monounsaturated fats and Omega 3s have all shown some effectiveness in minimizing the risk of Alzheimer’s. Here are some things to add to your diet from each category:
Foods high in antioxidants and/or Vitamins B, C, D, E,
- Beans
- Citrus
- Blueberries, raspberries and strawberries
- Artichokes
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Coffee
Monounsaturated Fats
- Macadamia nuts
- Almonds
- Avocados
- Olive oil
Omega 3s
- Fish (e.g. Salmon)
- Chia seeds
- Flaxseed
Eat up!
~ Joe
Disclaimer: As you no doubt already know, I’m not a doctor. Take any health advice I have to give with a grain of salt (unless of course you have high blood pressure).
by Joe Hearn | Aug 30, 2012 | Pursuits, Retirement
A major problem I have with how retirement is currently practiced in America is that it doesn’t give you enough time.
If you retire at 65 and stay healthy and active until 75 (a stretch for many), then you’ve got 10 years to do everything you’ve been putting off for the last 40. To be blunt, 10 years is not enough.
How can we deal with that problem? The most obvious solution is to start retirement sooner. We don’t do this, though, because in our minds we’ve coupled retirement activities with age, work status, and assets. If we haven’t saved enough or we’re still working, then our dreams stay on the drawing board.
I’m putting the finishing touches on a free guide (you’ll be the first to see it) that will show you how to re-imagine retirement and jettison the idea that it can only start after the retirement party. The guide will be ready soon, but for now, I thought I’d point you to a few articles from the IR Archives that address this issue.
We have quite a few new readers since our London Calling article got exposure on the front pages at Yahoo and MarketWatch, so to many of you the above articles will be new. For the rest of you they’re a good reminder.
Spend a few minutes reading them and then ask yourself this question: “What is one thing that I’ve always wanted to do in retirement that I can actually start doing now?” Maybe there’s something you’ve always wanted to learn or a trip you’ve always wanted to take. There are four months left in 2012. Set a goal to do that one thing before we ring in the New Year. Then once you’ve done it, set a goal to do something else. Why save the best things in life until the very end?
~Joe
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