There aren’t many absolutes in personal finance or financial planning. But when it comes to Social Security, you can be almost certain you’ll face this decision that requires you to choose:

Accountability is one of the best tools you can use to make better financial decisions and take the necessary actions after you decide what to do. Unfortunately, it’s also probably one of the hardest parts of achieving financial success.

The final post in our three part series continues to look at the ways Dunn and Norton, authors of Happy Money,  suggest we change how we use our money so that we can get more happiness from every dollar we spend.

The first is the idea that we should “pay now, consume later,” and the second is that to get the most from our money, we might want to spend it on others instead of ourselves.

 If you haven’t read it yet, I recommend starting with this post first. Once you catch up, head back here to continue the conversation.

 Today, let’s look at Principles 2 and 3 from Happy Money authors Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton. If you understand and use these principles in your day-to-day life -- and in your bigger-picture, long-term financial planning -- you can enjoy a greater degree happiness when you spend.

One major financial issue we currently face certainly impacts you right now. It’s our level of federal spending and the current deficit, and whatever your politics, the issue does affect you.

Once you get a realistic understanding of what to expect from your investment return, you’re better prepared to face the next challenge the market throws at investors: dealing with its ups and downs.

Often, married couples will divide and conquer tasks as a necessity to get their family to-do list done. Yet, when it comes to finances, this notion of “dividing and conquering” may not be your best bet in the long-run.

We all know that the more resources you have, the better your ability to achieve your goals.

But few people think about how the psychology of spending and saving can increase happiness.

Index investing is a trend on the rise. I have written multiple articles (Why I Believe in Passive Investing and Index Funds and Passive Fund Management: Understanding the Opportunity) on the many benefits of investing in index funds. As with anything that gains popularity and threatens conventional wisdom there are counter arguments as to why index investing may not be the best thing for you or the market. 

It may seem like forever ago, but it was only a little over a year (Sept 2017) when we were all shocked by the major Equifax Data Breach. The breach resulted in more than 145 million people’s personal information, like Social Security numbers and birth dates, being compromised. That is almost half of the entire United States! And, yet, even more worrisome, AARP found that just 14% of the 2,000 compromised individuals it surveyed actually took steps to freeze their credit.