Chill out. I’m not saying that money WILL buy happiness, I’m saying that it CAN. I’m speaking straight from experience. I’ve seen my customers have their dream wedding, buy their dream car, and go on their dream vacation, but this is only a tiny part of the true happiness money can bring. The real happiness I see comes from the peace of mind my customers experience when they realize they CAN save enough for their kids college tuition, they HAVE enough saved up for an emergency, and they WILL be debt-free in 5 years. These are not material things, but they are achieved with money.
To understand this correlation of happiness and money you first must understand what happiness really is, but before we go into that I want you to do an activity with me. I’m serious, please do it – it’ll take three minutes.
So what is happiness? Happiness is an emotion just like sadness, fear, or gratitude. Emotions have causes – something has to happen in order for you to feel any of these. What are the experiences, achievement, and activities that make you happy? I believe that happiness is state of being. It is that understanding that you are consistently pursuing the things that bring you joy.
Do not mistake pleasure for happiness. Pleasure is a short-term thing that we can get from food, sex, and even shoes (right ladies?). Unfortunately, most people seek happiness through pleasure. Our materialistic society has made us believe that if we go through life acquiring pleasurable things it will lead to happiness. This is why you see people all around you overspending on vehicles and clothing and splurging on food and booze and not saving for the things that really excite them. It’s nice to have nice things, but when you’re on your death bed the last thing you’ll remember is the truck you bought at 28 years old. But who am I to judge?
For those of you that did the activity above, that sheet of paper is your road to happiness. I’m serious. The things on that sheet are experiences in life that will ultimately bring you joy. How does it make you feel to know that you’re not spending/saving your money on the things that really make you happy? If you accomplished most of those would you be happy? I know I would.
So, these are the activities and experiences that bring you happiness, but how does money tie into all of this? Take a look at all the items on your list – trips, college, a wedding, kids, cars, a house, retirement, security, a business, being debt-free, freedom, etc. My customers have goals from $10 yoga classes to $1,000,000 homes, so I’ve seen it all. I can guarantee that more than 80% of the items on your list are tied to money.
This is the unfortunate truth. Even intangible things like living debt-free, security, and financial freedom have money written all over them. And because of this you need to have a financial plan that ties directly with your life goals. Most people overlook look this simple correlation and that’s why most people will never experience the things they desire.
I challenge you to take a look at where your money is going and see if its getting you closer to all your life’s goals. You can achieve everything on that list if you plan for it.
Get your accounts linked on mint.com and see where your money is going and spend 3 minutes writing down your life’s goals. Next week I’ll have a step by step process of how to start using your money to achieve your goals.