This groundbreaking personal finance resource shows you how to manage thinking, feelings, and behavior so that you can handle your money to get what you want—not what someone else thinks you ought to have to be happy.

Financial planning and money management are hot topics, but most books don't help you figure out what you truly want your money to provide for you. Exploring links between money and happiness, this guide is based on sound theory and on the latest research in psychology, behavioral economics, happiness, and neuroscience. It will give people at any stage of life—especially those of you in college or starting careers—the tools to plot your own course through the financial world and, ultimately, use money as a gateway to a happy and fulfilling life.

Stephenson and Hutchins introduce core concepts that support strong, sound decision making around money, based on personal values, attitudes and beliefs, and goals. Practical, information-gathering questions and exercises help you uncover your true financial needs. The final two chapters show you how to integrate the relevant information with your goals and develop a plan for success. Along the way, you will learn such things as how to plan for your long-term goals, how to delay certain types of gratification for another type of instant gratification (peace of mind), how to think about credit, and how to make decisions on such issues as renting or buying, investing or saving, and borrowing a lot, a little, or not at all. Finally, you will come away with new ideas for how to have fun on a budget.