Many Americans are choosing to hold onto their money these days, a lesson learned from the 2008-09 financial crash.
It’s good to have savings – but not to the point of hoarding, says entrepreneur and philanthropist Tim McCarthy, author of “Empty Abundance,” (mindfulgiving.org).
Americans are saving at a rate of 5.30 percent of annual income, well above the record low of 0.80 percent in 2005, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The world’s billionaires are holding an average of $600 million each in cash, which is more than the gross domestic product of Dominica, according to the new Billionaire Census from Wealth-X and UBS. That’s up from $60 million the previous year, signaling that the very wealthy are keeping their money on the sidelines and waiting for an optimal investment time.
“All of us could invest part of our ‘fortune,’ great or small, on something that gives back on a deeper human level, such as non-predatory loans to individuals from impoverished communities,” McCarthy says.
McCarthy diverts all of his business profits annually to his foundation, The Business of Good, which invests in socially conscious businesses and scalable nonprofit concepts.
Here he shows what everyone has to gain from mindful giving.
Money buys you happiness – up to $75,000 worth
Life satisfaction rises with income, but everyday happiness – another measure of well-being – changes little once a person earns $75,000 per year, according to a 2010 Princeton study. Another widely published survey by psychologist Roy Baumeister suggested that “happiness, or immediate fulfillment, is largely irrelevant to meaningfulness.” In other words, so many who finally achieve financial excess are unfulfilled by the rewards that come with that.
Remember the wealth disconnection to overall fulfillment