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Mindful Money: Simple Practices for Reaching Your Financial Goals and Increasing Your Happiness Dividend
Is it possible to be a conscientious citizen of the world and grow wealth? The author, a Buddhist and a financial planner, says yes and explains exactly how. Money drives many of our decisions. We all worry about earning it, spending it, and saving it — regardless of our income level or spiritual perspective. Yet few of us understand money’s true nature. Jonathan K. DeYoe helps you create a unique financial plan that is guided by your deepest beliefs, and shows you how to save, invest, pay off debt, and fund your retirement and dreams by building a lifetime income stream. With a foreword by Pulitzer Prize–winner Alice Walker, Mindful Money does all this while emphasizing that money is a tool you can use to support your lifestyle, reach your goals, and earn the “happiness dividend” everyone deserves.
304 pages, Paperback
Published February 10, 2017
72 people are currently reading
828 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan K. DeYoe
5 books6 followersJonathan DeYoe, AIF & CPWA, is the author of Mindful Money, the founder of Happiness Dividend, and owner of DeYoe Wealth Management.
He bought his first stock in 1980 (he was nine years old) and he started wondering about the "Meaning of Life" in High School. He started studying finance, but quickly shifted his focus to philosophy, comparative religion and Buddhist phenomenology. He spent 7 years on those subjects before embarking on his financial career.
Jonathan DeYoe is a Berkeley, CA based financial adviser and a longtime Buddhist. During his twenty years in the personal finance world, he has managed investments for clients at Morgan Stanley, UBS Paine Webber, Salomon Smith Barney, and Prudential. In 2001 he founded his own wealth management firm, DeYoe Wealth Management. Today Jonathan manages nearly $250 million for over two hundred families and foundations in the United States and overseas.
In his spare time, Jonathan speaks publicly about the intersection of money and happiness and contributes opinion pieces to publications such as Business Insider, Huffington Post, Yahoo! Finance, The Wall Street Journal, NerdWallet, MarketWatch, The Motley Fool, and The Christian Science Monitor. Jonathan lives in Berkeley with his wife and two children.
Jonathan loves reading, skiing, travelling, playing and coaching soccer and he spends as much time with his family as he can.
His blog can be found at happinessdividend.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @HappinessDiv.
He bought his first stock in 1980 (he was nine years old) and he started wondering about the "Meaning of Life" in High School. He started studying finance, but quickly shifted his focus to philosophy, comparative religion and Buddhist phenomenology. He spent 7 years on those subjects before embarking on his financial career.
Jonathan DeYoe is a Berkeley, CA based financial adviser and a longtime Buddhist. During his twenty years in the personal finance world, he has managed investments for clients at Morgan Stanley, UBS Paine Webber, Salomon Smith Barney, and Prudential. In 2001 he founded his own wealth management firm, DeYoe Wealth Management. Today Jonathan manages nearly $250 million for over two hundred families and foundations in the United States and overseas.
In his spare time, Jonathan speaks publicly about the intersection of money and happiness and contributes opinion pieces to publications such as Business Insider, Huffington Post, Yahoo! Finance, The Wall Street Journal, NerdWallet, MarketWatch, The Motley Fool, and The Christian Science Monitor. Jonathan lives in Berkeley with his wife and two children.
Jonathan loves reading, skiing, travelling, playing and coaching soccer and he spends as much time with his family as he can.
His blog can be found at happinessdividend.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @HappinessDiv.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 19, 2017
This is a non-fiction book where only the foolhardy or predatory financial people will disagree with the contents. For it is in complete opposition to any attempt to get rich in a quick manner. It all begins with a long-term plan for putting money aside and avoid any reactions to harsh, rapid changes in the value of your assets. The history of the American stock market is cited, noting the fact that over decades, the market has always gone up.
Other points made are ways to increase your “happiness index” by helping others, not always by simply giving money. Which is often more of a conscience salve rather than an effective way to aid people. Taking the time and making the effort to aid others keep the act in mind longer and has a more positive effect on your psychology than a fire-and-forget monetary contribution.
DeYoe is a practitioner of the Buddhist faith, so many principles of that religion are injected into the advice. If you are looking for financial advice that has the characteristics of what is seen on television with all the hype, bells and whistles, then this book is not for you. It is generally rather dull and a repeat of what has appeared in many other places, but as the sage Aesop put it so well centuries ago, “Slow and steady wins the race.”
Other points made are ways to increase your “happiness index” by helping others, not always by simply giving money. Which is often more of a conscience salve rather than an effective way to aid people. Taking the time and making the effort to aid others keep the act in mind longer and has a more positive effect on your psychology than a fire-and-forget monetary contribution.
DeYoe is a practitioner of the Buddhist faith, so many principles of that religion are injected into the advice. If you are looking for financial advice that has the characteristics of what is seen on television with all the hype, bells and whistles, then this book is not for you. It is generally rather dull and a repeat of what has appeared in many other places, but as the sage Aesop put it so well centuries ago, “Slow and steady wins the race.”
May 22, 2017
This book has a clear Buddhist view, so know that beforehand before you pick it up. It didn't bother me, as I was curious to see how this would shape the financial advice. This book is not the most practical book I've read on setting up a solid system of personal finances, but it's definitely the most principled one. If you're looking for a challenging view on finances, read this book. The advice is solid and fits Christian principles as well. The 'happiness' aspect was interesting, and definitely something you don't find in many books on this topic.
December 30, 2017
Book has some good financial tips + takes the approach of making sure your goals & methods are realistic & don't make you miserable along the way. There will be tradeoffs but it's not realistic to think you'll live like a hermit. Haven't read many books that take an approach to not only focus on good money practices but on how it works into overall happiness. Money doesn't equal happiness.
May 9, 2019
I found this read incredibly helpful and I can't easily remember when I got more from actually doing the activities in a book.
April 14, 2022
Mindful Money is a financial must-read! The author takes a holistic approach to finance explaining why money can be a sensitive subject/source of anxiety and the importance of discovering and using money to accomplish your life's vision. The overall theme of DeYoe's book is to be hopeful and purposeful about making financial moves aligned with your core values. DeYoe outlines 8 pillars of happiness (health, engagement, relationships, meaning, accountability, generosity, optimism, and gratitude) and explains how each pillar contributes to overall happiness.
“Living according to (values like persistence, service-mindedness, self-belief, humility, courage, and discipline) is what leads to happiness. Not money. When we concentrate on using our gifts at the highest possible level and serving others, we reap happiness even if we don’t find ourselves rolling in dough.”
“Living according to (values like persistence, service-mindedness, self-belief, humility, courage, and discipline) is what leads to happiness. Not money. When we concentrate on using our gifts at the highest possible level and serving others, we reap happiness even if we don’t find ourselves rolling in dough.”
February 6, 2018
3.5 stars. Fascinating application of Buddhist ideals to money matters with solid sounding advice and great materials for planning your financial life. A couple of reasons this is not 4 stars.
First and foremost, this book was not what I expected. I'm not sure what I expected and that's all on me for picking this up from the cover.
Second there's a lot of really great information in here. I just think it could have been a little more heavily edited. Sometimes in the drive to make a point or clarify an idea, things got overwordy and my eyes glazed over or I lost the point entirely.
Still would recommend to anyone looking for a more chill approach to financial planning.
First and foremost, this book was not what I expected. I'm not sure what I expected and that's all on me for picking this up from the cover.
Second there's a lot of really great information in here. I just think it could have been a little more heavily edited. Sometimes in the drive to make a point or clarify an idea, things got overwordy and my eyes glazed over or I lost the point entirely.
Still would recommend to anyone looking for a more chill approach to financial planning.
July 6, 2017
I've learned a lot from this book. I didn't know that I could apply meditation and mindfulness to financial planning. It was also refreshing to hear another person's experience and apply it to historical and trending issues. I don't have a fear for the stock market anymore, I now have a plan for retirement.
June 20, 2018
It is about the attitude towards money practices as well as the techniques. It has applications for all parts of life going into detail about what makes people happy, how to not loses the run of yourself in exciting markets and more.
September 12, 2018
I have already done some similar exercises in other money management books but there are some new insights in this book to help determine how to orient your goals to better align with your personal values and goals. Worth the read.
January 5, 2019
Excellent book. Have developed my own financial action plan (FAP) along the step by step guidelines. Love the HERMAGOG concept.
June 22, 2020
I love the concept of combining finances and mindfulness. I love the way author DeYoe begins with teaching achievement of happiness and then sets up financial planning and good money practices for his readers. I like DeYoe’s light references to Buddhism that aren’t preachy or overbearing. I like his equally light-hearted busting of money myths. But for me, an elder who has weathered both good and bad financial times, the financial information is very basic. Yet this is a great book for young adults with little money experience and for older people who feel like financial beginners, or for anyone who wants to learn the basics. I recommend it such individuals.
The Happiness Pillars (as the author dubs them) were most interesting to me. I completely agree that until a person develops these character traits, money is not apt to give lasting pleasure. The Pillars are: health, engagement, relationships, meaning, accountability, generosity, optimism, and gratitude (I would replace the latter with appreciation, a less obligatory-sounding concept). Best of all, the author applies these traits directly to money issues, giving direct motivation to readers to apply his suggestions.
The Mindful Money Practice that the author offers is simple, and might sound familiar. It’s eight clear steps: developing your vision, starting the saving habit, building an emergency fund, eliminating high-interest debt, investing for retirement, eliminating low-interest debt, increasing your emergency fund, and investing in a taxable non-retirement account. He enumerates various get-(not)rich-quick schemes to avoid.
The difference between this financial self help book and ones that you’ve read before is that happiness and security exercises come before any financial planning and actions. Money isn’t asked to provide happiness and security. Rather, once happiness and security are in place, they facilitate the clarity needed to develop a financial plan and the motivation to stick to it.
A great book for financial beginners of all ages. The method builds step-wise, so it’s easy to follow, and each step is clearly presented. If you want some help with your financial and happiness quotients, check out Mindful Money.
The Happiness Pillars (as the author dubs them) were most interesting to me. I completely agree that until a person develops these character traits, money is not apt to give lasting pleasure. The Pillars are: health, engagement, relationships, meaning, accountability, generosity, optimism, and gratitude (I would replace the latter with appreciation, a less obligatory-sounding concept). Best of all, the author applies these traits directly to money issues, giving direct motivation to readers to apply his suggestions.
The Mindful Money Practice that the author offers is simple, and might sound familiar. It’s eight clear steps: developing your vision, starting the saving habit, building an emergency fund, eliminating high-interest debt, investing for retirement, eliminating low-interest debt, increasing your emergency fund, and investing in a taxable non-retirement account. He enumerates various get-(not)rich-quick schemes to avoid.
The difference between this financial self help book and ones that you’ve read before is that happiness and security exercises come before any financial planning and actions. Money isn’t asked to provide happiness and security. Rather, once happiness and security are in place, they facilitate the clarity needed to develop a financial plan and the motivation to stick to it.
A great book for financial beginners of all ages. The method builds step-wise, so it’s easy to follow, and each step is clearly presented. If you want some help with your financial and happiness quotients, check out Mindful Money.
February 6, 2017
Endorsements:
“DeYoe pierces common money illusions and focuses readers on the elements that underpin true happiness.”
— Tadas Viskanta, founder and editor of Abnormal Returns: Winning Strategies from the Frontlines of the Investment Blogosphere
“Mindful Money, a book grounded in a belief system that is deeply compatible with my own spirit, teaches the lessons I have been waiting for.”
— from the foreword by Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple
“Mindful Money provides a commonsense and inspirational framework that serves as a road map to happiness and offers a thoughtful reassessment of how money is just a tool, not the destination.”
— Burt White, managing director and chief investment officer of LPL Financial
“If there were a smarter and better way to manage your money and your life, you’d want to know right away. So open this book and start reading.”
— Bob Seawright, chief investment officer of Madison Avenue Securities and blogger, Above the Market
“Teaches you to put wealth-building ideas into action. . . . If you read one money book this year, let it be Mindful Money.”
— Barbara Friedberg, MBA, MS, expert investor and author of Invest and Beat the Pros-Create and Manage a Successful Investment Portfolio
“[DeYoe’s] advice is solid, his delivery is assured, and his claim of discovering the key to happiness is surprisingly plausible.”
— Publishers Weekly
“DeYoe pierces common money illusions and focuses readers on the elements that underpin true happiness.”
— Tadas Viskanta, founder and editor of Abnormal Returns: Winning Strategies from the Frontlines of the Investment Blogosphere
“Mindful Money, a book grounded in a belief system that is deeply compatible with my own spirit, teaches the lessons I have been waiting for.”
— from the foreword by Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple
“Mindful Money provides a commonsense and inspirational framework that serves as a road map to happiness and offers a thoughtful reassessment of how money is just a tool, not the destination.”
— Burt White, managing director and chief investment officer of LPL Financial
“If there were a smarter and better way to manage your money and your life, you’d want to know right away. So open this book and start reading.”
— Bob Seawright, chief investment officer of Madison Avenue Securities and blogger, Above the Market
“Teaches you to put wealth-building ideas into action. . . . If you read one money book this year, let it be Mindful Money.”
— Barbara Friedberg, MBA, MS, expert investor and author of Invest and Beat the Pros-Create and Manage a Successful Investment Portfolio
“[DeYoe’s] advice is solid, his delivery is assured, and his claim of discovering the key to happiness is surprisingly plausible.”
— Publishers Weekly
December 7, 2020
3ish
I've said it before and am a firm believer that a minimum of 90% of personal finance books are absolute trash. But I grab them anyway hoping for a diamond in the rough or at least a nugget.
This one was actually pretty good. The author is a Buddhist so it had that spin on the topic and that made it pretty unique. If you read the critiques you'll see a theme that it was rambly/too wordy. I agree with that. The first 18ish chapters could be tightened up considerably. But the book became very focused around Chapters 19-20 and was very practical from there to the end.
It's worth a read.
I've said it before and am a firm believer that a minimum of 90% of personal finance books are absolute trash. But I grab them anyway hoping for a diamond in the rough or at least a nugget.
This one was actually pretty good. The author is a Buddhist so it had that spin on the topic and that made it pretty unique. If you read the critiques you'll see a theme that it was rambly/too wordy. I agree with that. The first 18ish chapters could be tightened up considerably. But the book became very focused around Chapters 19-20 and was very practical from there to the end.
It's worth a read.
July 6, 2019
Really appreciated this book as a mindful guide to financial planning and visioning. The exercises in the book were extremely helpful... as well as the tying to overall happiness indicators. If someone is already very well versed in financial planning, I imagine some of the exercises especially might be redundant, if not useful refreshers.
June 16, 2017
Nonfiction. So far it's based on the market, which is something that is boring to me...I want more personal finance advice. I do love the activities and questions he suggests at the end of each unit to think and journal about. Am I going where I want to end up?
February 3, 2020
Enjoyed the book. Really helps you adopt your mindset, especially if you came from a background where you weren’t taught about money. Helped me nurture a healthy view of money and how I can set a vision for my future based on my values and interests.
May 16, 2020
Buddhist Take on Money
There’s nothing new here in terms of providing basic financial advice. However, I found the Buddhist sensibilities to applied to money and finance to be refreshing.
There’s nothing new here in terms of providing basic financial advice. However, I found the Buddhist sensibilities to applied to money and finance to be refreshing.
July 26, 2023
Fairly standard financial advice delivered with a relatively thin Buddhist varnish. If you are new to financial advice, this is an adequate place to start. But if you have read much in the genre and are looking for a more deeply spiritual take on the subject, you may be underwhelmed.
September 1, 2017
This was a good, straightforward set of financial steps for success. I liked the structure of this book and the exercises at the end of each chapter.
July 23, 2018
More for people who have already been investing for some time.
May 10, 2019
Nothing new or earth-shattering here, but good advice all the same.
September 29, 2019
DeYoe has nothing new to say but his turn off phrase got me to wrap my brain around issues in an entirely new way. Very refreshing & enlightening.
July 6, 2020
This is a must read for anyone that is having a hard time with the mindset shift that must happen when you are tackling your finances.
February 4, 2025
the only personal finance book you need imo
April 11, 2017
This book can help you sort out self-defeating behaviors around money and orient a financial plan around 8 elements (pillars) that are critical as a foundation for your financial goals and happiness.
May 3, 2017
Not breaking any new ground in this one, but the Buddhist take on personal finance was interesting. I don't think this one will go down as a personal finance classic.
Read
January 16, 2018Not a typical finance book in that it is more talking about how to be conscientious with your money. I like that a third of the book is dedicated to the pillars of happiness and how money relates to that. I also appreciate that the author is Buddhist and much of the book is based on this philosophy/religion. Last, I appreciated the reminders and information about realities of retirement in the modern day.
January 16, 2018
Loved this little book. Good, solid, basic advice.
October 2, 2018
Fantastic book! Everyone who cares about their finances should read it.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews