Can money buy happiness?
The answer is complicated – certainly money is important, there is no denying that.
But does it make us happy?
My colleagues and I have all worked with wealthy clients who are miserable.
We also have clients of modest means who are not only happy but spread that happiness to everyone they come in contact with – including their advisor!
Psychologists have have probed the relationship between money and happiness and have come up with some useful insights.Experiences make us happier than things.Spending money on others often makes us happier than spending it on ourselves.It is the season of giving and many of us are spending money on gifts. I recently discovered a way to give the gift of giving — Charitable Gift Cards from Tisbest.org*
I sent out a number of these gift cards at Thanksgiving, and the response was really positive.
Tis Best Charity Gift Cards empower people to support causes they’re passionate about.
How does it work? From the tisbest.org FAQ page:
A TisBest Charity Gift Card works like any other gift card, except that instead of buying more stuff, the recipient of a Charity Gift Card spends it to support a charity of their choice. You may choose between three gift card types: Send a biodegradable plastic gift card in a quality greeting card by regular mailSend a gift card by email Print the gift card on your printerYou can buy any denomination, to the penny, between $10 and $5,000.
The cards do not expire and may be used at any time.
When you purchase email gift cards or print-on-your-printer gift cards, you simply pay for the face value of the card.
For biodegradable plastic charity gift cards, you pay the card face value plus $1.49 which simply covers the cost of the plastic gift card, greeting card, envelope, and handling. There is no additional cost for customizing any of the gift cards with your own image or logo, including plastic gift cards!
TisBest transfers funds to the charities each calendar quarter, based on Charity Gift Cards spent in the prior quarter. The charities receive 100% of the face value of the cards spent on them!
Recipients can browse the TisBest curated list of 300 leading charities, or search their database of 1.5 million registered charities. Every recipient is sure to find a cause to love.
The person who buys a Charity Gift Card gets the opportunity for a tax deduction. For example, if you buy a $50 Charity Gift Card, we send you a receipt for a $50 charitable donation to TisBest Philanthropy, an IRS approved 501(c)(3) charity. The person spending a Charity Gift Card is not entitled to a tax deduction.
There are many organizations doing good things; if able, join me in helping them.
*I have no affiliation with TisBest.
