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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
Financial Infidelity
Honest and open communications are the cornerstone of a healthy relationship. So, it should come as no surprise that withholding details of your financial shenanigans from your spouse is a financial recipe for disaster. You are a financial … Continue reading
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Tagged financial infidelity, hidden money, marriage, Michael Keaton, Mr. Mom, spouse
1 Comment
Brother, Can You Spare $75,000.00?
A 2010 study by economist Angus Deaton of Princeton and Nobel Prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman found that happiness increases along with income – but only to a point. The two authors analyzed survey results from 450,000 Americans participating … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged $50, $75, 000, Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, Gross National Happiness, happinees, Kahneman, Marist, Princeton
13 Comments
“I do”, now, “I don’t”
At least most Americans were married longer than the 72 days it took Kim Kardashian to call it quits. To provide some perspective, Kim’s marriage to NBA basketball player Kris Humphries lasted 33 days less than the movie Titanic was … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 72 days, debt, divorce, happiness, Jeffrey Dew, Kim Kardashian, marriage, Texas, thrift
18 Comments
Capuchin Commerce
This may all be just a bunch of monkey business, but Saturday’s Wall Street Journal (4-1-2012, C11) had a great article about the consumer behavior of monkeys (Capuchins to be more precise).1 Laurie Santos, a young scientist at Yale University, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Capuchin Monkeys, consumer behavior, humans, Laurie Santos, saving, spending, Yale
21 Comments
God’s Financial Plan
These are tough economic times where the little guy can’t seem to catch a break. Well, why not team up with The Big Guy? With televangelist Don Stewart’s “Green Prosperity Prayer Cloth” you will receive and I quote “abundant blessings … Continue reading
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Tagged Affluenza, Don Stewart, Financial Plan, God, Mark 10:30, Name It and Claim It, Prayer Cloth, Prosperity Gospel, Seed Faith
15 Comments
“i Want An Ethical Apple”
UPDATE (MARCH 6TH): APPLE’S CEO, TIM COOK, WILL EARN $378 MILLION IN 2012. YES, THAT’S MILLIONS (BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK, 2/20 – 2/26/2012) Wouldn’t you just kill for a new Apple iPad? Apparently, workers in China who assemble iPads will and do. … Continue reading
Food For Thought
Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, BK, Schlotzsky’s, Red Lobster, Chili’s, Panda Express, Olive Garden, Dairy Queen, Denny’s, KFC, and even Long John Silver’s, are all like members of the family to many of us. As Americans, we love to eat out. … Continue reading
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Tagged Dining out, fast food, future value calculator, savings, spending
15 Comments
The Real St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
Do you feel, like the graphic poster above suggests, that you must spend your hard-earned money on Valentine’s Day to show others how much you care? Apparently, many of us do. The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasts that Americans … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 2012, candy, jewelry, massacre, Pets, spending, Valentine's Day
20 Comments
Lakshmi: The Prosperity Gospel Revisited
In chapter ten of my book, Shiny Objects, I talk about the Prosperity Gospel (PG). In its simplest form, the PG argues that tithes and donations given to a church will result in a financial windfall for the giver. … Continue reading
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Tagged Lakshmi, material possessions, Prosperity Gospel, Shiny Objects, theology, wealth
8 Comments
Harvesting Happiness Interview Today at 11:00 am!
Hello All, I will be interviewed at 11:00 a.m. today (CST) by a radio show (Harvesting Happiness) in California. Please find below four web sites that are promoting the interview: http://toginet.com/shows/harvestinghappiness http://harvestinghappinesstalkradio.com/ http://lisakamen.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/harvesting-happiness-talk-radio-welcomes-dr-james-roberts-february-1st/ http://www.hh4heroes.org/blog/ Have great day, Jim
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Tagged American Dream, Harvesting Happiness, James A. Roberts, Shiny Objects
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