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SHINY OBJECTS: Why We Spend Money We Don't Have in Search of Happiness We Can't Buy
SHINY OBJECTS takes a careful and amusing look at how our love of material possessions impacts our happiness and what we can do to find true happiness in a culture awash in material possession love.
Author Archives: jim_roberts
Cell-Phone Jones (Addiction)
My research (with friend and colleague Steve Pirog) on cell-phone addiction, http://www.akademiai.com/content/q41011j715q26n7h/, has created quite a media stir recently. Coverage has even jumped “the pond” with coverage by The Daily Mail of the UK: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2241326/It-s-probably-better-talk-How-checking-phones-60-times-day-driving-away-friends.html. The most commonly asked question … Continue reading
$550 Million Power Ball Lottery = Happiness?
With all of the excitement over the now $550 million Power Ball lottery, I thought I would share with you a brief excerpt from my book (Pages 151-152), Shiny Objects: Why we spend money we don’t have in search of … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged $550 million, everyday pleasures, happiness, lottery winners, money, Power Ball Lottery, Shiny Objects
3 Comments
Gratitude \Grat-i-tood\ (n): Thankfulness
It’s that time of the year again, when families far and wide gather to give thanks for the blessings bestowed upon them over the past year. Don’t forget to add a generous helping of food, football, and of course, shopping. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Black Friday, gratitude, gratitude journal, happiness, Thanksgiving
8 Comments
The Rich (1%ers) are different from you and I
Despite the somewhat rocky economy, Hermés, a retailer of upscale leather accessories and fancy silk scarves, can hardly keep their shelves stocked with their toney merchandise. Hermés’ starter Birkin leather handbag retails for $6,130. The upscale retailer tallied a 24 … Continue reading
Materialism Joke!
It’s seldom that you can find much that’s funny about our preoccupation with Shiny Objects, but I think I just might have. I have tried this joke out on several live audiences to a chorus of snickers and even a … Continue reading
Shiny Objects Found on Mars!
You can imagine my disappointment when I discovered that the SHINY OBJECTS found on Mars was not a copy of my new book, Shiny Objects: Why we spend money we don’t have in search of happiness we can’t buy. In … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Curiosity Rover, happiness, Mars, NASA, Shiny Objects, spending
3 Comments
There’s No “I” in Team
If you have ever been involved in kids’ sports you’ve probably heard a coach say, “There’s No ‘I’ in Team”. There may be more than a kernel of truth in such a saying when it comes to family finances as … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Dave Ramsey, financial footprint, individual savings, No 'I" in Team, separate checking, Shiny Objects
11 Comments
The Golden Rule of Shopping
We’re all familiar with it – The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. This sentiment appears to be universal. It’s golden in its simplicity, that we would treat others as we would like … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Christmas, Islamic, morality, New testament, Old Testament, Shiny Objects, shopping, The Golden Rule
9 Comments
