Money carries feeling as much as arithmetic, and Ken Honda writes about the anxiety, guilt and relief that attach themselves to earning and spending.
Rather than a budgeting system, Happy Money sets out a way of thinking drawn from Japanese ideas of gratitude and flow, asking readers to notice the beliefs they inherited about wealth. Short chapters mix reflection with stories from Honda's years advising people on their personal finances.
How it reads:
• Focus on the emotional side of money rather than investment products or spreadsheets
• Ideas rooted in Japanese thinking about gratitude, generosity and contentment
• Reflective questions that ask readers to trace where their money beliefs came from
• Plain language throughout, with no prior background in finance assumed
Written for students, salaried workers, business owners and anyone who wants a calmer relationship with money, available in English at Boipoka.