How do we generate more wealth? Through her own experimentation, Buenostar has devised a deceptively simple two-step method to inviting abundance in our lives. She calls it the Happy Money method and it only takes five dollars to get started.
Financial literacy education is going the way of the dodo. Children are growing up with no idea how to gain or manage money and it has created generations of anxious adults scrambling to make ends meet and worrying that they’ll never have enough money. Even those with enough to meet their needs feel a sense of scarcity; we are raised to believe money is stagnant and finite.
Laina Buenostar believed this as well but learned from personal experience that money is neither of those things. Money exists to move from one location to another. Money that sits and does nothing inherently has no value. And there is plenty of money to go around.
The Happy Money Method
The Happy Money Method can be broken down into two parts: One focuses on the outflow of money, the other on the inflow. Buenostar emphasizes the importance of remembering that money likes movement.
Part 1: Send money out into the world
In order to welcome the inflow money, you must first create space for it. The good news is it doesn’t take much to get started! Buenostar recommends five dollars for the first month.
Take five one-dollar bills (or whatever is the smallest note in your country). On a small piece of paper or sticky note, write a positive message, blessing, or affirmation, and attach it to a dollar. Roll the dollar up and hide it somewhere discreet but visible enough that someone will find it. Do this with the remaining dollars, spreading anonymous gifts throughout the month. And that’s it!
It may sound completely absurd at first blush, but the idea is less supernatural than it seems. Giving someone money feels good; it is a universally-understood act of kindness that makes both the giver and receiver feel better. Most people think that monetary giving is only for the rich but, really, even a single dollar can improve someone’s mood and, by extension, their life.
Think about the last time you found money. It felt amazing, didn’t it? Not only are you giving someone that same rush, you’ve added a positive message to the mix, effectively doubling the joy your future recipient will feel!
Part 2: Invite money in.
When you give your Happy Money away, you are planting a seed for yourself. Because money likes movement, it must first be “planted” in order to properly grow and actualize its full potential. After all, you can’t expect a bountiful harvest if you never planted anything!
Once you’ve planted your little money seeds, the second part of the Happy Money Method is what waters them so that they will grow and return wealth to you ten or even a hundredfold.
How do you water these seeds? With a blessing or affirmation. When you hide your Happy Money, or as soon as you can afterward, take a moment to appeal to your preferred higher power, or whoever you feel comfortable addressing. Express your sincerest thanks not for the money you’ve given away but for the money you will eventually receive. By thanking ahead of time, you’re essentially staking a claim on the rewards you wish to reap.
Again, this may sound like a New Age-y gimmick, but there is some behavioral economics at play, here. “Claiming your blessing” is a form of anchoring; our thoughts shape our reality and, if we believe we’re going to be rewarded for our gifts, we will be.
Why should I try the Happy Money Method?
The first few times you send Happy Money out into the world, you might feel uncomfortable. You may even feel silly or foolish, or that what you’re doing is a waste. These feelings are perfectly normal; leaving money around is wasteful since it doesn’t immediately benefit us.
But what if it does? Hiding money in secret places is exciting! Knowing that someone will find your gift and appreciate it is a wonderful sensation. There is no shame in giving, no matter how unconventional the methods seem at first. A gift that makes both the giver and receiver feel good is certainly no waste.
Our minds and bodies respond to generosity. Acts of kindness lift our spirits and ignite feelings of hope and optimism inside us. When we put out a kind thought or gift, we create a ripple effect. Our kindness touches someone else, who pays it forward to another person, and so on. Even if you gain nothing financially, there is no limit to the benefits that can be reaped from Happy Money.
To really reap the benefits, consider journaling about your experiences with the Happy Money Method and how it works for you. For a reminder to do so, add the Write in My Journal habit to one of your daily Fabulous rituals.
