Sherrill’s Shelves
Sherrill Sherwood
As part of my job in Collection Development for the Haliburton County Public Library, I do radio promos on Canoe FM which are usually one minute book talks. Some of them garner more attention than others. Recently I did one promoting the book Happy Money: the science of smarter spending by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton. It caught people’s attention. The opening line is provocative: “If you think money can’t buy happiness, you’re not spending it right”.
The mixed messages we receive in our lives about money are confusing. On the one hand we are bombarded daily with advertisements urging us to buy the latest gadgets, cars, furniture, etc. and on the other hand we are warned about the folly of debt. Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s popular titles Money Rules: rule your money or your money will rule you and Debt-free forever: take control of your money and your life speak to the many feeling bogged down by their past spending decisions.
A conversation with a co-worker about the exorbitant price a late family member of hers paid for cherries 
came to mind when I saw cherries on sale in the Foodland flyer. What I found myself wondering was whether the price of those cherries was worth it to that family member who splurged. Did the feel of biting into a juicy, rich, flavorful cherry bring her a moment of happiness that would merit the price, on sale or not? I listen to other people describing the various restaurants they frequent and have often wondered why anyone would spend so much money weekly to eat out when they could often eat as well or better at home. I understand now that while I don’t get enough “bang for my buck” when eating out to warrant the money spent, they must.
It’s such a novel way of looking at money that it’s no wonder the book caught people’s attention. What if we asked ourselves as we pay at the till if we got as much positive energy from spending our money as we put into making it? Of course if it was all negative energy that went into making the money, that’s a whole other topic and there are career change titles in the library to help you out with that too: New resume, new career by Catherine Jewell and Second-act careers: 50+ ways to profit from your passions during semi-retirement by Nancy Collamer are two examples.
The feeling I get when I walk into any library with all that information and entertainment available to borrow for free – well, that feeling is priceless to me, literally and figuratively. I see it on the faces of many patrons frequenting our branches too.
Happy Money and all titles mentioned can be requested through any of the eight library branches in Haliburton County or online through our website at www.haliburtonlibrary.ca.
For cherries, you’ll need to visit a local grocer or farmer’s market.
*Originally published in Haliburton County Living on July 25th 2013
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