In his August 24, 2014 syndicated column Scott Burns tells of a study by Dunn and Norton who give five principles for having “Happy Money.”

Buy experiences not things: go to Chicago rather than buy a new stuff.Make it a treat: don’t keep ice cream in the house, make it special by anticipating going out every Tuesday night for ice cream.Buy time: we are “time poor” people so slow down and avoid expenditures that devour time.Pre-pay your vacation so you don’t worry about spending “all that money.”Invest in others: give gifts or cash or support someone on a ministry trip or hand out $20 when you feel like it.

These ideas will help remove the tendency to endless question of “Is this worth it?” Burns does not mention it, but giving money to church, mission, health, poverty, orphan care or directly to people in need is “Happy Money” as well.