This is the first in a series asking the question:

What is one of your favorite things that you’ve been able to do with your money?

Just a few weeks ago, my wife and I were going to join a diverse group of friends for dinner. My wife said we would bring dessert but on the day of the event, there was no time for baking. With about ten minutes to spare, we stopped in a new local bakery and gourmet deli called House of Homemade.

Needing dessert for thirty, the proprietors filled our take out bag full of different sweet and spiced pies, cakes and muffins and I happily paid the bill and left to join our friends. After our meal, we laid out the spread of desserts to the delight of all.

Afterwards, I happily considered the many levels of satisfaction that this purchase brought.  It’s great to spend money in a way that brings joy to others. Just seeing the smiles while eating cakes and muffins made this purchase worth every cent. But satisfaction with this purchase did not end that evening. Buying from a local bakery was the beginning of a relationship. The next time we visited the House of Homemade, I was able to share with the proprietors how much delight their tasty treats brought to our gathering. Since that time, we have used House of Homemade to cater food at church luncheons and our two young boys like to visit so they can choose from the large selection of tasty desserts. There are few things that bring me greater satisfaction than patronizing hard working and industrious entrepreneurs who are offering a great product at attractive prices. For my economist brain, it is gratifying to know that this money is helping to provide local jobs and is being reinvested in other food suppliers around the region.

If you are ever visiting Church Hill in Richmond, Va., I highly recommend you make a visit to the House of Homemade. If you go for lunch, I recommend the Regency (sandwich) on a torpedo roll.

Matthew Illian, AIF®, CFP®, is wealth manager at Marotta Wealth Management, Inc. providing fee-only financial planning and wealth management at www.emarotta.com and daily publications at www.marottaonmoney.com.

December, 2011 features several money mavens answering this question.