Happy Go Money Book Review

Happy Go Money: Spend Smart, Save Right & Enjoy Life is a book written by Melissa Leong. You may have seen her as the money expert on CTV’s The Social. She was also on Drew Barrymore’s show talking about money. Melissa Leong also wrote for the Financial Post for a few years.

This was the last book on my list of 5 personal finance books to read on my list of 2025 personal finance resolutions. Since I started scheduling 30 minutes of reading daily it’s been a breeze getting the books I want to read in.

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Happy Go MOney: Spend Smart, Save Right & Enjoy Life Book review

Here are the main chapters of the book Happy Go Money:

• Buying Happiness
• Check Yourself Before You Wreck Your Wealth
• Feel Like a Million Bucks (For Free)
• Take Stock, Make Gains
• Happiness for Later
• Make it Rain
• Happiness Assassins
• The Life-Changing Magic of Giving a Buck

The book starts of talking about the Joneses and why we think comparing ourselves to others and buying more stuff might make us happy. It actually just makes us happy momentarily. Then you’re left with a bunch of stuff. She talks about the psychology of money and how to feel like a million bucks but for free.

Then in the next part of the book Melissa Leong talks about investing and thinking about the future. She talks about the “Silver Fox” (what you will be like in your 70’s) and why all the decisions you make today will impact your future happiness.

What I Liked About Happy Go Money

Melissa Leong shares a lot of personal stories in this book and it’s almost like a memoir. I didn’t know that her husband suffered from depression and had to be checked into a psychiatric unit for help (he is okay now). I also didn’t know she was from Winnipeg and her background is journalism. She makes the book personable and it’s almost like having a long talk with a girlfriend.

She even wrote about her experience living in Taiwan on a very small stipend and sharing her room with cockroaches- and that experience was one of the happiest in her life. I admire the toughness. I couldn’t room with cockroaches.

Another thing I liked about the book is that at the end of each chapter, she gives some actional steps you can take “Your Happy Go Money To-Do List” and some discussion points to ask yourself “Money Talks” for reflection.

What I Didn’t Like About Happy Go Money

Most of this book is about the psychology of money and how to be happy with less. If you are looking for more of an investing book this isn’t it.

One thing I didn’t like is some of the vulgar sentences in the book, some erotic references for jokes. Other than that it was a great book and I actually laughed out loud in some parts.

Genymoney.ca’s Thoughts on Happy Go Money

Happy Go Money was a very enjoyable, easy read. I didn’t know that Melissa Leong was that funny. I would recommend it if you are interested in taking action on your finances and you don’t really know where to start.

The intersection between money and happiness is known, and it’s easier said than done, but this book espouses what many other books also recommend (for example, Ikigai and Balance by Andrew Hallam). These are:

• Live life with less
• Value experiences over material goods
• Find something you are passionate about (something where you can get into your flow state and forget that you’re hungry or need to go to the bathroom)
• Save and invest for your time freedom

Have you read Happy Go Money? What did you think of it?