Happiness and Money

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Happiness and Money

Psssst, come here. Let me ask you something; are you happy? Seriously, are you happy? When was the last time you asked yourself if you were happy? By the way, what is happiness? If you are a parent, are you at the peak of happiness when your children are at school? I understand, I love the little angels, but everyone needs a break from wiping poop.

Be forewarned—if it seems like I talk about poop a lot, that is a hot topic in my house right now. My daughter, McKayla, likes to check to see if I have pooped my pants. It’s like she saying, “do you like it when I look down the back of your pants? No? Then why do you do it to me?” In this hypothetical scenario, I would reply, “well, you pooped on yourself last week.” At which, she would respond, “85% of the time, I don’t, so you can stop checking all the time!” Ok, I digress—I got a little sidetracked.

Are you happy?

What is happiness? That’s the question.

I often contemplate how I can be most efficient in helping people increase satisfaction in their lives. Is it my job to help people make smart choices with their money so that one day they will be happy, or is my job to guide people to make pleasurable decisions that will bring them happiness now and later?

LET ME CLEAR THAT UP:

My thinking may be a little confusing. Let me explain from a different angle. As a parent, I don’t make my children study 15 hours a day and keep them from playing just because, in the future, I want them to have a great job that pays lots of money. That’s punishment. I would not be securing their happiness; I would honestly be keeping them from simply being a kid. Instead of being a drill-sergeant-dad, it’s my job to find the formula that allows my kids to be kids while also fostering an environment that pushes them to manage their own life when they get older.

Therefore, my definition of happiness is doing pleasurable things that also benefit me in the future.

Happiness is so all about you.

Let’s keep it 100%. I don’t really like to run. I mean, I can think of so many other things I could be doing besides running or jogging. As a matter of fact, I can think of a few things that I could do other than working out period, but working out does give me some pleasure—so I do it. The numerous benefits are the driving force to my pleasurable experience with exercise.

I would love to drive an Audi. I would love to live in a bigger home. Man, I just read that A-Rod and J-Lo live in a penthouse with a restaurant in the building that delivers their food and waits on them. What!? But, I can’t afford that man. And if I tried to afford something out of my means, it wouldn’t be beneficial to me later.

So, based on my definition of happy, are you happy? Are you participating in things in your life that are pleasurable to you now and will be pleasurable to you in the future?

If you are employed at a job that you dislike, then you are not doing something pleasurable right now.

If you purchased too much home, sure it may be pleasurable to you now, but will you be able to retire later? Will you be able to do things for your family and your children later?

Think back to some choices that you made as a kid that you wish you hadn’t have made. My god, thank you for not having video capability on phones when I was a kid.

Figuring out what actually makes you happy will help you keep yourself out of financial ruin. If you can strip all the emotions out of purchasing something and prioritize it, then you will find that it really doesn’t cost much to feel fulfilled. There are people all over this world, living in the most impoverished conditions that are happier than you. That tells me that we have control over our happiness—that there is such a thing as the pursuit of happiness.

What’s draining you?

As a parent, the grind of raising children can be hard, but those hugs and kisses at the end of the night are payment enough to me. I choose to be happy in doing what I need to do to make my family happy.

That’s right, you can choose happiness. Only you can take a step back and really assess your life. Take control; the world can throw you some pretty heavy stuff, but once you understand that you are in control, you will be in a position to handle it.

One thing that helps with this is to take the financial stress off your back. Make some changes now; do what it takes now, so that you can enjoy later. If you don’t have to worry about money, you will be able to make tweaks that matter. You will have space to find out what drains you and work to improve.

What is draining to you?

• Work
• Spouse
• Children
• Money
• Or YOU!

Once you start making smarter money choices, and that is no longer a stressor, everything becomes clearer. It is easier to see your spouse in a new light. If you are not chasing money to support your expensive lifestyle, then things will slow down for you a great deal. When things slow down, then you can take a look at different aspects of your life and begin to improve.

So, make the right money choices, and you will be happier now and later. Remember, money can’t buy you happiness, but making smart choices to eliminate money worries can bring great joy to you and your family. Isn’t that what we all want—happiness and money?

To learn more about how to budget and be more efficient in your financial life, please subscribe to my blog. If you want to learn more about how budgeting will impact your life in a positive way, purchase the book, The Financial Effect.

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

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