Nigeria’s Billionaires Plan to Conquer Africa

This year, Nigeria adds a new billionaire Mike Adenuga, and sees Aliko Dangote’s fortune skyrocket.

Alike Dangote

In the past year Aliko Dangote’s fortune surged 557% to $13.8 billion, up from $2.1 billion, after he consolidated all his public and private cement holdings throughout Africa into the continent’s largest cement manufacturer and took it public on the Nigerian stock exchange in October. Dangote Cement now has a market value in excess of $13 billion, and accounts for a quarter of the Nigeria Stock Exchange’s total market capitalization.

The dearth of native suppliers to meet increasing cement demand is driving the stock price. Dangote projects demand at 72 million metric tons and growing because of the drive to build infrastructure in Nigeria, Africa’s most populated nation, as well as other countries; current supply is 67 million metric tons, a shortfall of 5 million metric tons.

For perspective, he is now richer than longtime white South African billionaires Nicky Oppenheimer of Debeers and Johann Rupert of luxury goods group Richemont, which owns Cartier, Dunhill and other premium brands.

For now he’s gearing up to introduce Dangote Cement to foreign investors. Companies listed on the Nigerian stock exchange are required to have a minimum free float of 25%, Dangote initially listed 5% of shares. According to analysts at Thaddeus Investment Advisors, the Nigerian market is too shallow for a stock of Dangote Cement’s size to be listed on the exchange; this is why the balance of the free float will be listed outside of Nigeria. Dangote, who recently bought himself a $45 million Bombardier aircraft for his birthday, has been shuttling back and forth to London for months, in anticipation of a public offering in London later this year.

He is certainly one to watch. After a lucrative career in trading, Dangote ventured into manufacturing pasta, salt, sugar, and flour in 1997, in part encouraged by the policies of former president Olusegun Obasanjo. Eventually Dangote went from importing and rebagging cement to production as well; he was awarded the government’s then state-owned cement business and began building his own plant in 2003. Cement revenue which has been primarily based on imports grew 15% a year between 2001 and 2005; once the Obajana plant was fully operational in 2007, revenue quadrupled; in fiscal 2009 revenue was $1.2 billion.

Dangote Cement now owns three cement plants and two terminals in Nigeria where he both produces and still imports cement. The Obajana plant is Dangote’s largest to date and controls the largest market share in Nigeria; Dangote terminals at Lagos and Port-Harcourt have the highest import quotas of all local companies. With additional capacity coming on line this year, total capacity is expected to reach 26 million metric tons by the end of 2011. (also helping boost profits: Dangote’s newly combined entity is tax exempt through 2017.)

But he won’t stop there. Dangote has started building investments in cement plants and terminals across Africa including Senegal, Zambia, Tanzania, Congo, Ethiopia, Cameroun, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Ghana.

Mike Adenuga

Meanwhile his compatriot Mike Adenuga who founded Globacom, the mobile, fixed, broadband, and international gateway carrier, joins Forbes’ billionaires list with a net worth of $2 billion. Globacom launched services in Nigeria in 2005, in the Republic of Benin in 2008 and has licences to operate in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire (with Togo and Senegal next). He took a big gamble laying a $1 billion undersea fibre optic cable, Glo-1, to link Africa with the rest of the world. (partnered with Alcatel-Lucent) The connection will help lower prices for customers as well as help Adenuga expand more quickly.

[FORBES]: Africans on the 2011 Forbes List of Billionaires

Forbes Magazine recently released its list of billionaires for 2011. The Forbes list of billionaires is based on an annual assessment of wealth and assetts compiled and published by Forbes magazine. Check out the list of Africans that made this year’s list.
Africans on the 2011 Forbes List of Billionaires

The Nigerian businessman’s fortune surged 557% in the past year, making him the world’s biggest gainer in percentage terms and Africa’s richest individual for the first time. The catalyst was listing Dangote Cement, which integrated his investments across Africa with his previously public Benue Cement; it now accounts for a quarter of the Nigeria Stock Exchange’s total market cap. Already the continent’s biggest cement maker, he has plants under construction in Zambia, Tanzania, Congo and Ethiopa and is building cement terminals in Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Liberia, among other places. Dangote, who recently bought himself a $45 million Bombardier aircraft for his birthday, has been shuttling back and forth to London for months, in anticipation of a public offering there later this year. Dangote began his career as a commodities trader; built his Dangote Group into conglomerate with interests in sugar, flour milling, salt processing, cement manufacturing, textiles, real estate, and oil and gas.

The ‘forever’ part of the diamonds story don’t seem to be rubbing off on the fortunes of De Beers. The world’s largest diamond producer, owned by Oppenheimer, has seen a choppy ride in the last couple of years. Buyers took flight in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and are now slowly coming back led by developing countries such as India and China. The company cut costs aggressively last year and has been selling off some of its assets in 2010, a year that it said was better than expected.Oppenheimer quashed speculation in January that he was divesting the family’s 40% stake in De Beers to Anglo American, which already owns 45% in it. The Oppenheimer family, in turn, owns 2% in mining giant Anglo American, founded in 1917 by grandfather Ernest. Passionate conservationist, owns Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, largest private game reserve in South Africa.

Youngest son of Orascom founder and billionaire Onsi Sawiris. Took over leadership of empire’s flagship construction and fertilizer division in 1998. In 2007, sold cement business in Algeria to French construction giant Lafarge. Owns 13.9% stake in Lafarge, and sits on board . Also largest shareholder in cement producer Texas Industries. Had berated management’s poor performance, but recently reached agreement to boost stake to no more than 20%. Shares of Orascom on London exchange plunged by more than one-third after uprising in Egypt.

Owns publicly traded Swiss luxury group Richemont, which owns Cartier, Dunhill, makes Chloe bags and MontBlanc pens. Company has been doing better than analyst expectations on the back of accelerating sales in Asia-Pacific. Big on acquisitions: Richemont bought out online fashion portal Net-a-Porter 350 million pounds in April 2010 while his South African holding company, Remgro, bought out private South African investment outfit, VenFin, earlier. Appointed as Chancellor of the University of Stellenbosch,in South Africa where he has an office. With family relatives, owns two of South Africa’s best-known vineyards, Rupert & Rothschild and L’Ormarins; owns one of the country’s most exclusive golf clubs. Launched L’Ormarins 1200 car rally;has been pushed back from October 2010 to end-2011. Recently, he vowed to take on oil multinational Shell, opposing shale gas development in SA.

Eldest son of Orascom founder Onsi Sawiris played a role in Egypt’s revolution, calling on Hosni Mubarak to step down and new government to be formed. Now seems to be distancing himself from politics. Heads Wind Telecom, which provides mobile services across Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Europe and Canada through Orascom Telecom, Italy’s Wind Telecomunicazioni and Greece’s Wind Hellas. Russian mobile operator Vimpelcom offered to buy Wind Telecom assets for $6.6 billion; Naguib is reportedly considering a revised offer. Failed earlier to sell his telecom assets to South African operator MTN Group.
Patrice Motsepe
$3.3 B
Net Worth Calculated March 2011
Age: 49
Source: Mining, self-made
Residence: Johannesburg, South Africa
Country of citizenship: South Africa
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3
World’s Billionaires
#336 overall
#3 in South Africa
Johannesburg mining magnate is South Africa’s first black billionaire. Net worth up this year by $1 billion as a result of rising stock prices. Born in the sprawling black township of Soweto and then trained as a lawyer, became first black partner at Bowman Gilfillan law firm in Johannesburg, before starting a contracting business doing mine scut work. Bought low-producing gold mine shafts in 1994, turned them profitable using lean, mean management style. Since then built $1.5 billion (sales) mining conglomerate, African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), with interests in platinum, nickel, chrome, iron, manganese, coal and gold. Benefited from South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws, which mandate that companies be at least 26% black-owned in order to get a government mining license. Also holds a stake in Sanlam, a publicly traded financial services company outside Cape Town where he sits on the board.
Onsi Sawiris
$2.9 B
Net Worth Calculated March 2011
Age: 81
Source: construction, self-made
Residence: Cairo, Egypt
Country of citizenship: Egypt
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3
World’s Billionaires
#393 overall
#3 in Egypt
Founding patriarch of Egypt’s most famous business dynasty. Onsi’s three sons Naguib, Samih and Nassef run separate Orascom telecom, hotels and construction divisions. Studied agriculture in college after father urged him to pursue farming. Found it boring, and instead opened a small contracting firm in Upper Egypt. Was forced to rebuild after Nasser nationalized company in 1960s.
Mohamed Mansour
$2 B
Net Worth Calculated March 2011
Age: 63
Source: cotton trading, inherited and growing
Residence: Cairo, Egypt
Country of citizenship: Egypt
Education: MBA, Auburn University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 2
World’s Billionaires
#595 overall
#4 in Egypt
Mansour and his two brothers debut on the billionaires list, each with their own billion-dollar fortune despite revolution raging in their native Egypt. The Mansours are the biggest sellers of GM vehicles worldwide, and their Mansour Group has other interests including the largest supermarket chain in Egypt and the country’s second largest real estate developer. Sustained little damage during the Egypt uprising; any long term impact remains unclear. Mohammed was the country’s Minister of Transportation from 2005 until 2009; his sprawling estate in Cairo overlooks the pyramids.

Nicknamed “the Guru” in his native Nigeria, Adenuga debuts on our billionaires list after making waves with mobile technology. His telecoms carrier Globacom recently launched a 4G network, and he’s invested $1 billion on a submarine cable connecting Nigeria to the rest of the world. He made his first million at age 26 selling lace and distributing Coca-Cola, then won a contract to build military barracks in the late 1980s. He owns a stake in the Equitorial Trust Bank and chairs Niger Delta oil exploration firm Conoil. Adenuga is a soccer devotee and sponsors a number of tournaments.
Yasseen Mansour
$1.8 B
Net Worth Calculated March 2011
Age: 49
Source: Diversified, inherited and growing
Residence: Cairo, Egypt
Country of citizenship: Egypt
Education: BA/BS, George Washington University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 4
World’s Billionaires New to the list
#692 overall
#5 in Egypt
New on the list. Youngest brother of Mohamed Mansour, 49-year-old Yasseen heads Palm Hills Developments, Egypt’s second largest real estate developer. Builds luxury housing and resorts. Impact of Egypt’s revolution still unclear. Cousin who was Mubarak’s housing minister before ouster in cabinet shake-up, is a shareholder in Palm Hills and other Mansour holdings. He now faces allegations of corruption. Youssef is graduate of George Washington University.
Youssef Mansour
$1.8 B
Net Worth Calculated March 2011
Age: 65
Source: Diversified, inherited and growing
Residence: Cairo, Egypt
Country of citizenship: Egypt
Education: MBA, Auburn University; North Carolina State University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 5
World’s Billionaires New to the list
#692 overall
#6 in Egypt
New to the list. Older brother of Mohamed Mansour, Youssef, 65, was instrumental in building the largest supermarket chain in Egypt, Metro. Stores spared looting during uprising; loyal employees stood guard daily to defend from theft and stay open for business. Now situation unclear. Devotes time to family foundation, with mission to eradicate illiteracy and promote education. With wife, enjoys collecting Louis XIV furniture and Renaissance paintings.

The South African makes the cut thanks to his stake in the continent’s biggest retailer, low-price supermarket chain Shoprite. Known as “Christo”, he also owns a stake in discount clothes, shoes and textiles chain Pepkor (slogan: “Making the desirable affordable.”) Restored a South African farm estate and remodeled it into a five-star hotel, Lanzerac Manor & Winery. Replanted the vineyards around it, created a modern cellar and has restarted brewing wine. Also owns wine producer Lourensford Estate and a private game reserve in the Kalahari
Samih Sawiris
$1.4 B
Net Worth Calculated March 2011
Age: 54
Source: hotels, inherited and growing
Residence: Cairo, Egypt
Country of citizenship: Egypt
Marital Status: Married
World’s Billionaires
#879 overall
#7 in Egypt
Middle son of Orascom founder and billionaire Onsi Sawiris. Samih runs real estate and hotel division which owns and operates hotels in eight countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Oman, UAE and Switzerland. Hotel properties in Egypt may take a hit, as tourists flee Egypt due to unrest. In 2010 partnered with French luxury goods company LVMH to develop two resorts in Oman and Egypt under Cheval Blanc brand. Also building luxury hotels and a golf course on a former Nazi supply route in Andermatt, Switzeland.
Mohamed Al Fayed & family
$1.2 B
Net Worth Calculated March 2011
Age: 78
Source: Retail, self-made
Country of citizenship: Egypt
Marital Status: Married
Children: 5
World’s Billionaires New to the list
#993 overall
#8 in Egypt
Flamboyant Egyptian businessman, father of Dodi Al Fayed who died in a car crash along with Princess Diana in Paris in August 1997. A natural born salesman, began flogging homemade lemonade to his classmates during recess; said to have sold Pepsi in market stalls, worked as a sewing machine salesman. Became an associate of businessman and weapons dealer Adnan Khashoggi, whose sister he eventually married. Became a British resident in 1974. Acquired House of Fraser group in mid 1980s, including the venerable Harrod’s department store, which he revitalized and refurbished. Sold it to Qatar Holding for a reported $2.4 billion in May 2010; now honorary chairman. Owner of the Hôtel Ritz in Paris, the Fulham football club, and a castle in Scotland. Anglophile has yet to be granted British citizenship.

The 5 Rules of Happiness

You know when you're happy, and certainly no one has to tell you when you're sad. But what is it that makes a person happy?

It is important to realize that what makes you happy might depress another person. There are people, because of guilt, a feeling they do not deserve what they have, or a feeling they will lose what they have that makes them unhappy when they should be happy.

Possessions are a poor measure of happiness. Possessions are subjective and relative to the individual and the individual's viewpoint. Instead, we will use a philosophy as an example.

This philosophy is about enjoying things you like, avoiding or changing things you do not like, and accepting what you cannot avoid or change by the skillful use of your viewpoint. The use of this philosophy, as embodied in the five rules, will allow you to test many problem areas in your life and find solutions. With this philosophy, you will be well on your way on your pursuit of happiness.

Rule Number One: If You Like a Thing, Enjoy It.

Now that seems outrageously simple. At first you might say, "That's ridiculous, of course if I like something I'm going to enjoy it." But when you stop to think about it you'll probably agree that there are many things in life that we like but don't enjoy. The reasons we don't enjoy things we like are (a) guilt, and (b) fear. You will not enjoy something you like if you feel guilty after having done the thing, or if you are fearful of the consequences of doing it.

Rule Number Two: If You Don't Like a Thing, Avoid It.

The second rule seems simple enough, but reflect for a moment on how many people are involved with things they do not like -- a job, a person, a vehicle, a type of food, any one of a thousand things -- and for some reason they don't avoid those things. "Well, I can't avoid it. I have to work there because I need the money." Or, "I have to be involved with this person for many valid reasons." How many justifications can you think of for not avoiding the things you do not like to do?

Rule Number Three: If You Don't Like a Thing, and You Cannot Avoid It, Change It.

Here again, the answer is simple: change it. But just as in avoidance we rationalize that we need something about it -- the money, the time, the security -- something is holding you to that particular thing if you don't like it, cannot avoid it, won't change it, but are still involved with it.

Rule Number Four: If You Don't Like a Thing, Cannot Avoid It, and Cannot or will Not Change It, Accept It.

Acceptance -- now there is a catch. How can you accept something you don't like? How in the world do you accept something that is 'unacceptable'? How do you accept a situation that you're not happy with? How do you accept a person that you're not happy with? Well, you really don't have to accept anything; you can, of course, be unhappy. If you don't like it, won't change it, cannot avoid it, and will not accept it, I guarantee that you will be unhappy. There are, however, five rules to the secret of happiness, and within the fifth lies the key.

Rule Number Five: You Accept a Thing By Changing Your Attitude Towards It.

You are the result of your viewpoints and attitudes. Everything is relative to the person experiencing it. There are no absolutes -- nothing is good, nothing bad, except as it relates to you. Nor is life good or bad. Life simply is. You change those things you wish by changing your viewpoint about them.

How easy!
How difficult!

Your attitudes and viewpoints are all part of your mind and once you develop the power of self mind control you will be the master of your own attitudes and viewpoints. Using these five rules you'll soon find yourself on the right path on the pursuit of happiness. You'll realize why people are unhappy. Eventually it will become automatic, and you'll find happiness a predominant state of mind. Once you realize the ease of acquiring this emotion, you develop an entirely new scale of highs and lows.

Unremitting happiness, of course, is not a possible or desirable state. According to the principle of rhythm, there is always an inflow and outflow, an ebb tide and a flood tide. You'll always have highs and lows -- there's no way to avoid that. However, your highs will be higher and your lows will be higher. You'll then find that what is a happy state for you might be a state of depression for someone unaware of the Five Rules of Happiness. 

Adapted from Burt Goldman

Are you hungry for fresh "meat"?

Jesus said unto them,
My meat is to do the will of Him
that sent me, and to finish his work."

- John 4:34

What's yours?

What has He sent you to do?

TODAY, He has sent me to wake up
the sleeping eagle inside you...

... so you can join the MIDNIGHT
prayer army.

And experience firsthand the joy
of INSTANT answers to prayers ...
in every area of your life.

Just like this sister from Botswana:

"Good Day Elisha
Let me start by saying glory be
to Father God through son Jesus Christ.

Our Lord Jesus is an Awesome God
and he has done a miracle for me.

I was taking part on the 14 days
prayer and really what I was asking
God was to impart on me his holy spirit...

...so that his signs and wonders can
be seen through me, and on Friday 21
January something extra good happened.

On the night of Friday as I was watching
God Channel my neighbour came to ask me
to take his daughter to hospital as she
was sick,

but the Holy Spirit told me to just
finish off first what I was watching
and I did just that.

After the preaching I then went to see
the lady only to realize that she was
in a critical situation.

We then took her to the car and after
she got in the car she died.

 Her mum was just crying and I immediately
went and laid my hands on her chest and
called the name of Jesus five times and
her life was restored back.

Right now she is alive in Jesus name.

Wow this will go down as one of the
best testimonies in my life and all
the GLORY IS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.


Glory be to God our Lord Jesus Christ."

- Thabo M, Gaborone, Botswana

Yes, she asked for power to do exploits
and she received it.

The moment you make up your mind to become
a raging fireball at the midnight hour...

...and confront YOUR stubborn problems
head on, the LORD will respond with
a flood of shocking testimonies.

In your life EVERYDAY!

Be An Overcomer!

Courtesy: elisha@firesprings.com

Adapt or be replaced

I don’t believe Charles Darwin theory of evolution that stipulates man evolved from ape. I am a staunch believer in the fact that God created man in His own image. However I agree with Charles when he said “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, or the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change”. The 1 million dollar question is; are you change averse? You must never forget that people that transform themselves and adapt to change will continue to stay on top in this era. In his book, the age of Selfish Altruism, Alan Fairnington wrote “It is amazing how technology that is not old is being replaced. Vinyl records were replaced by CDs using laser technology. CDs are disappearing because music can be downloaded from the internet for free or through low-cost subscription. The tiny audio cassette was replaced by the Sony walkman and it is in turn made outdated by the Apple iPod”. So how can we adapt to change?  We must keep learning and innovating. That was what IBM did.  According to Bruce Harreld and Michael L. Tushman (both of the Harvard Business School), IBM was headed for extinction in the 1990s, but she learned to adapt and regained its place as a dominant competitor in the technology industry.

  

Adapted fromTosin 'Badeniyi

"This Is The Power Of One Simple Idea"

• Marc Benioff is the CEO of the multi-billion
  dollar technology leader -- Salesforce.com
  
  When he started his company in 1999, he
  made it company policy to give a percentage
  to charity in this manner:
  
  1% of equity -- worth $0 at the time
  1% of profits -- worth $0 at the time
  1% of employee time -- there was 0 employee
  
  The company took off like a rocket, and
  today has become the industry leader in
  on-demand software.
  
  What does 1% translate to?
  
  
  To date Salesforce.com has given away:
  
  - 10 million dollars -- 1% of profits
  
  - 10-20 million dollars -- 1% of equity
  
  - 50,000 hours -- 1% of employee
     time to charitable causes.
  
  
  Salesforce calls this the 1-1-1 model.
  
  It gets even more interesting so please
  pay close attention here.
  
  In 2003 Marc was giving a talk at Stanford
  University. He described in detail how the
  model has worked for the company.
  
  In the audience that day were the founders
  of Google, the search engine giant.
  
  At the end of the presentation, they
  approached Marc and told him they were
  interested in adopting their giving
  model for Google.
  
  Result?
  
  Google has set up a foundation to implement
  the 1-1-1 model.
  
  As I write they have set aside a massive
  1.5 BILLION dollars which they are giving away
  to charity!
  
  
  
  This is the power of one simple idea --
  
  
  
  giving back or tithing a certain percentage
  of your income.
  
  This is the power of one simple idea plucked
  right out of the Bible.
  
  It is the dominant secret of financial
  prosperity.
  
  But that's not all.
  
  In the Bible there are 6 others...
  
  
  
  Here's the Golden Key that
  Brings Financial Prosperity ...
  
  What Is it?
  
  The Bible says,
  
  "My God shall supply ALL your needs
  according to His riches in glory by
  Christ Jesus"
  
  Meaning:
  
  To experience divine prosperity, you
  first have to know GOD as your provider.
  
  And to do that, you need to observe
  the 7 laws of prosperity.
  
  Failure to observe these laws gives
  rise to...

    The 7 Common Mistakes ...



Here's how to avoid them...


Law #1: Tithing

The tithe is one tenth of your income.
When we pay our tithes, the Lord opens
to us the windows of heaven ... but this
is just the beginning.

Law #2: Offerings

You must be generous by giving freewill
offerings unto the Lord. This law ensures
that the more you give unto the Lord, the
more abundance you experience (potentially).


While the tithe opens the windows of heaven
to you, your offerings will activate the
law of giving and receiving --

So you'll be able to receive and KEEP the
blessings in your storehouse.

Law #3: Building His Church

God wants His people to participate in
building for Him, both spiritually and
physically.

God will always bless those who join
hands in building His church. You can
prove this to yourself if you know
of a church project going on.

Law #4: 

Blessing Ministers That HE Sends

There are certain ministers that God
works with, period. As you come across
these people, you must be discerning
enough to reach out and bless them.

Remember Elijah of old.

And Elisha the prophet.

When you look after the vessels that
God uses, HE Himself will look after
you. It is as simple as that.

Law #5: 

Break The Curses and Covenants of Poverty

Here is where many believers fall down.
It is clear that so many are operating
under hidden curses and covenants of
poverty.

As soon as you break them, and then
follow up with regular tithing and
offering, the LORD will surprise you!

Law #6:

Sowing And Reaping

Again the Bible declares: "While the
earth remains, seedtime and harvest ...
shall not cease"

Without seedtime, there can not be
any harvest. This is both a spiritual
and a physical law.

To walk in overflowing prosperity, you
need to sow good seeds into the work
of the Lord.

After you've sown that seed, then you
begin to pray in agreement with what
the Bible says ... and the law of
divine prosperity will be activated
for you.

Law #7:

Become Skilful in Prosperity Prayers

This means learning to pray specific,
targeted prayers to release divine
prosperity.

This type of prayer is full of high
praises unto the Lord, plus machine-gun
prayers like this:

"I rise out of the dust of poverty
by the power in the blood of Jesus"

"Let spiritual magnetic power that attracts
and keeps wealth be installed in my finances in
the name of Jesus."

"I release my finances from the influences, control
and domination of household wickedness in the
name of Jesus"

"O Lord, let all satanic angels deflecting blessings
away from me be completely paralyzed, in the
name of Jesus"

10 Ways to "Buy" Happiness

Money should make you happy. At least, it should if you're spending it right.

That's the argument put forth by University of B.C. psychology professor Elizabeth Dunn. In a paper co-authored by two world-renowned experts on happiness, Daniel Gilbert of Harvard University and Timothy Wilson of the University of Virginia, Dunn argues that most people are terrible at predicting what will make them happy, leading them to routinely spend money on all the wrong things.

"Money is an opportunity for happiness, but it is an opportunity that people routinely squander because the things they think will make them happy often don't," write Dunn and her colleagues.
For decades, researchers have known that money buys happiness, but only up to a point.

Research shows that wealthy people are not significantly happier than those with moderate incomes -- and according to conventional wisdom, that's because many of the things that make us happy aren't for sale.

Dunn and her co-authors of the paper, "If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Then You Probably Aren't Spending It Right" -- to be published in the upcoming Journal of Consumer Psychology -- adamantly disagree with that assertion.

They boldly suggest that if you spend wisely, "money can buy many, if not most, if not all of the things that make people happy."

Drawing on their research, The Province presents 10 ways to better spend your money.

1. Buy many small lovely things rather than one big one

Go ahead, buy yourself that $4 latte.

Ever had an economist tell you how easily a $4 latte at work every morning will quickly add up to a staggering yearly sum of $1,040? And wouldn't you rather spend that kind of money on something bigger, like a vacation or home theatre system? Well, the answer may be no.

It may well be that a latte a day, or every few days, will make you happier than a single big-ticket item once a year.

"This is not to say that there's anything wrong with large purchases," writes Dunn. "But as long as money is limited by its failure to grow on trees, we may be better off devoting our finite financial resources to purchasing frequent doses of lovely things rather than infrequent doses of lovelier things."

One reason why small, frequent pleasures beats one large infrequent one is because we're creatures of adaptation.

"If we buy an expensive dining room table... it's pretty much the same table today as it was last week. Because frequent small pleasures are different each time they occur, they forestall adaptation," says Dunn.

Research also tells us that breaking up a pleasurable experience into a series of experiences can help maximize joy, something frequent coffee drinker Eva Sajoo, of Vancouver, seems to understand innately.

"Certainly I get a lot of pleasure out of a very well-crafted cup of coffee," she says. "But I think you enjoy it more if you don't have it every day."

2. Savour the cheap joys of life

Cozy up to a movie on a rainy day. Or go out for a walk on a bright summer's day.
Not only are these simple pleasures often cheap, or better yet, free, but savouring the mundane joys of life will make you happier, according to research.

"In a study of Belgian adults, individuals who had a strong capacity to savour the mundane joys of daily life were happier than those who did not," writes Dunn.

Interestingly, the same study found this capacity to savour "mundane joys" was significantly reduced among wealthy individuals. That may be because the wealthy have unfettered access to "peak experiences," which undermines their ability to appreciate smaller moments.

3. Practice 'presence' for an extra jolt of joy

Spending money on yoga retreats, meditation DVDs or self-help books isn't just for hippies or the spiritually inclined.

Scientific research is now also extolling the benefits of becoming more "present" or "engaged" -- which activities such as yoga are said to help you achieve.

Researchers have found that people who are more fully engaged in an experience will get more enjoyment from it.

"A wandering mind is an unhappy mind," Dunn and colleagues sum up succinctly.
Vancouver yoga teacher Jacci Collins says she's experienced firsthand the positive effects of presence.

"I use not only my physical practice of yoga, but my meditation practice as a way of just trying to bring me back into my life, because sometimes, life just spins out of control and the days are going by so quickly. And when you're aware of what you're doing at every moment, somehow you have more appreciation for every moment," says Collins.

4. Buy experiences, not things

Follow in the footsteps of 19,000 screaming teens who spent $60 on a Justin Bieber concert last week, rather than squandering it at the mall. That's right, these 19,000 "Bielebers" were made happier simply by spending their money on an experience rather than a thing.

If happiness can be bought, then it's essential to get the buying right, according to Dunn and colleagues.

"Experiences are good, but why are they better than things? One reason is that we adapt to things so quickly. After devoting days to selecting the perfect hardwood floor to install in a new condo, homebuyers find their once beloved Brazilian cherry floors quickly become nothing more than the unnoticed ground beneath their feet," writes Dunn. "In contrast, their memory of seeing a baby cheetah at dawn on an African safari continues to provide delight."

Mark Holder, associate professor of psychology at the University of B.C. Okanagan and a happiness expert, adds that the difference in happiness gained from a material object versus an experience is most acute after two weeks.

"When we spend, we don't tend to savour our big screen TVs, but we do tend to savour our experiences with others. We relive them through photographs, for example, we relive them by telling stories and by reliving, those people are happier," says Holder.

5. Spend on others, not yourself

Next time you think of buying something for yourself, buy it for a friend instead. Spending on others will make you happier, not only because it makes you look good (thereby boosting your mood), but because spending on others is a legitimate way to improve our connections with others, according to Dunn.

While this advice may seem to make sense, especially in light of how often we're reminded that "giving is receiving," it's surprising how many people disbelieve it, says Lara Aknin, a graduate student working with Dunn.

A 2008 survey of more than 100 UBC students conducted by Aknin found that a significant majority of students believed money spent on themselves would make them happier than if it were spent on others.

"There's this disconnect between what people believe will make them happy and what actually does," says Aknin. "People aren't that good at making good predictions because their look-ahead is plagued by all these errors, and we forget that when we look into the future we're not going to be in the exact same state that we are now."

6. Buy less insurance

Next time you're asked if you want to buy a warranty, say no. Businesses have long capitalized on our tendency to underestimate how well we cope with traumas, tragedies or just plain old bad luck. By offering an insurance against "unhappiness" from extended warranties to insurance policies, we're actually spending more than we need to guard against negative situations.

Dunn explains that just as we have a physical immune system to ward off disease, our psychological immune system has a remarkable ability to reconstruct and rationalize a negative situation into a positive one: "Ordinary people are remarkably adept at reconstruing events in order to avoid self-blame and the regret that accompanies it."

7. Delay, delay, delay consumption

Don't be tempted by those optimistic sales campaigns that proclaim "No money down!" or "Don't pay for six months."

If you wait till you have the cash to purchase the product or service, you'll get an extra jolt of happiness, says Dunn.

There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that the "consume now, pay later" mentality leads people to short-sighted behaviour, such as racking up debts or saving little for retirement -- decisions that can ruin lives, argues Dunn.
But another, less obvious reason why delayed consumption leads to more happiness is because "anticipation is a source of 'free' happiness."

"Research shows people can reap substantial enjoyment from anticipation of an upcoming event even if the event itself is not entirely enjoyable," according to Dunn.

8. Happiness is in the details

Who hasn't dreamt of owning a vacation home -- say, a waterfront cabin or ski chalet? Well, those dream homes may be more of a mirage in a desert.

Humans are adept at imagining, but tend to skip over the details, seeing the future in "simple, high-level ways," argues Dunn.

That means while we're picturing the glassy waters of a lakeside retreat, finer details like calls about a plumbing disaster, or long drives home after the vacation, or the constant buzz of mosquitoes while you're enjoying your glass of wine tend to recede in the background.

"Consumers who expect a single purchases to have a lasting impact on their happiness might make more realistic predictions if they simply thought about a typical day in their life," Dunn advises.

9. Don't shop around

Save your time and refrain from comparison shopping. Recent research suggests that comparison shopping may distract consumers from the attributes that will make them happiest, by making them focusing on the differences between available options.

Dunn gives the familiar example of shopping for real estate, in which would-be buyers typically attend countless open houses and viewings and scrutinize spec sheets for features and information on each home.

"As a result, home buyers might overestimate the hedonic consequences of living in a big, beautiful house in a great location vs. a more modest home, leading them to take out a larger loan than they can truly afford, " argues Dunn.

The same process may also lead consumers to seek out products that provide the "best deal," which is not always the product that makes them happiest.

10. Follow the herd

Can't decide which book to read? Movie to watch? Next vacation? The easiest way to get promising "happiness" results is to follow the herd.

"Research suggests that the best way to predict how much we will enjoy an experience is to see how much someone else enjoyed it," explains Dunn.

So chances are, summer blockbusters are as likely to bring us as much joy as they did the thousands of other people who've seen them.

A 2009 study drives home the point: Women were asked to predict how much they would enjoy a speed date with a particular man. Some women were shown his photo and autobiography. A second group were shown only the rating of how much other women enjoyed the date.

Think the vast majority of women shown the photo and autobiography would make a more accurate prediction? The opposite proved true.