There is a saying that money can buy happiness.
That might be true.
In our view though, money can’t buy happiness. It can buy a sense of security and freedom of choice if managed correctly.
In researching for this blog, we identified a few studies. Most say that money buys happiness. One thought, by economist Richard Easterlin, (as mentioned in wealthfactor.com) argued that money does buy happiness but only up to a certain point. “Once you have enough money to buy your basic needs – food, shelter/home, living costs-, you are as happy as you will ever get. More money will not push the happiness needle an inch higher”.
My experience tells me the more money I have the more I spend. Unless I am aware of how to save, nurture it to grow, and spend consciously to have quality of life choices, more money does not really add happiness. It brings responsibility.
How to begin?
Patterns
Do you have the right information at your fingertips on your income and expenses? Our cash flow tracker is a good tool to help you track your behavior to earning and spending.
Are you able to identify your must – do expenses for the basic needs, from the wanna do expenses that give you pleasure? Are there patterns in your behavior to money that are the same in the way you behave when situations in life (work, family, friends) occur?
Do you have the courage to ask difficult questions – of yourself first: am I happy with the way I manage my life and my money? Does it align to how I would like my life to be to feel to have quality of life choices for now and for my future?
What is the missing information I need to make the right decisions?
Who can give me trusted insight and information? Who can I rely on for independent advice?
If you have already built wealth, do you have the right information to preserve and grow that wealth in this constantly evolving environment and markets? Do you have the right planning tools in place?
Goals
Money is an important tool in fulfilling our need to feel secure and safe, and free to make our own decisions in life situations that occur to us.
Understanding how money works is useful knowledge to have in order to make informed decisions. Money management is not about mathematical equations. It is a mindset.
Our mindset is defined by our values, our sense of purpose, our WHY. (Simon Sinek on WHY is spot on to listen or read) https://simonsinek.com/
To make life interesting with a sense of purpose, it is necessary to set some personal goals. To know WHY we want to pursue a certain path, with a set of decisions and actions that would enable us to feel fulfilled, energized, content.
Writing down our small and larger steps, setting a horizon, which can act as a compass for our actions to measure progress.
Mirror, Mirror
Look at your goals and compare them with your approach to money. Does your current cash flow behavior allow you to fulfill goals? Would you need to re-prioritize your earning and spending approach? More savings, more investment and conscious spending?
Are your spending patterns aligned with your values and goals? Are you nurturing your future, your wealth, your mind and soul?
The way we treat money, mirrors the way we treat life.
Money can bring happiness, if it is set in the right life priority context. This is a good point to begin.
