So you’ve clicked over here for one reason … You want some snickerdoodle cookies. Just kidding, that’s what I would love right now 🙂
You really clicked here for one of two reasons:
1. You want to have financial success
2. You’re unsatisfied with your current life situation and thought you’d kill two birds with one stone and learn how to be happy + be financially successful.
I’m going to talk about something that’s straight up one of the most debated topics about money. Can money buy you happiness? (Did I just see an eye roll from you?) Just hear me out first!
You’ve heard it time and time again, and you probably have your own opinion about it. If you just simply listen to my opinion stated below I will give you tips on what truly makes you happy and how you can achieve ultimate happiness in your life. (No, it is not by eating an obscene amount of chocolate cake, even though I wish it was.)
Why Do You Want More Money?
Have you ever really thought about why you want more money? Or do you just want it just to have it?
If you’re simply just not happy because you have too much student loan debt and think that you need that brand new Jeep (that’s me!) then you don’t need more money. You’re still going to make the same money mistakes if you have more money. You’ll still spend it on useless material items that won’t satisfy your inner childlike needs.
You’re probably saying to yourself right now, “That’s not me. I don’t spend my money on useless stuff I just want to be more financially stable.” I hear ya! I constantly find myself thinking that if I could have just a little extra in savings that I would be quite content with life.
But …. It’s not that simple. How often do you think about money? Daily? Hourly? For me, it is definitely daily just because I have a personal finance blog, and that’s my job to help you understand a little bit more about your personal finance 🙂
How many hours do you spend of your life stressing and wishing that you had just a little more money, because then you can be the happiest go-lucky person in your neighborhood.
Did you know that people will never be satisfied with the amount of money they have? Once you get more money, you up your lifestyle, causing you to need more money to pay for the new lavish lifestyle you have.
It’s kind of like a never-ending cycle of torturing yourself.
But guess what! You are in luck because I am here to tell you how you can actually achieve happiness. And the crazy thing? It will even bring you financial success!
Breaking Money Myths
First, let’s break that money myth. You’re probably still thinking, “I would still be happier with more money.” True, you may be happy for a little bit but will you be satisfied forever?
According to Business Insider, after making $75,000, increasing your income isn’t going to make you any happier. That $75,000 is kind of the sweet spot. But, most people are still unhappy at that spot, why?
Because of their financial choices. Most live way above their means, while others just have student loans racked up to the ceiling that just keep piling up and don’t have a plan to pay down the debt.
If you’re at that sweet spot of income and you don’t feel happy because you feel like you need more money then first, look at your expenses. How are you spending your money? Are you living within your means?
Simply just cutting out some of your expenses can help increase funds that you’re not seeing and build your financial system to be stable.
No matter what income, I have an excellent post for those who just want to cut their expenses because they can’t keep up with the lifestyle they have.
After taking a look at your expenses (I know it’s something that we seriously try to avoid!) take a look at your spending habits.
So I have a terrible memory and literally can’t remember if I bought eggs at the store or not yesterday. I don’t even remember when I bought those new boots in my closet! I do remember all the family vacations, the trips my husband and I have gone on and all the many times we have gone to Lagoon. (My husband is an amusement park fanatic and begs me to go like all the time.)
Our experiences we have significantly outweigh the material items we get. When people think about having more money they think about having more stuff, which doesn’t completely satisfy.
What to avoid:
First and foremost, avoid the debt! If you take anything out of this post then you stick to this one thing, do whatever you can to avoid debt. Having debt is known to lower happiness (and you don’t want to be Mr. Grumpy right?)
Now you’re saying to me, “That’s easier said than done, you have no idea what my financial situation is!” Nope, I don’t. But I know enough to know that if you’re reading this you more than likely have access to find tips to reduce your debt. (or, you know, you could read more of my posts where I can help you with that.)
Second, happiness killer is negativity. Well, duh. But seriously, Mrs. Debby Downer, don’t stress your life away even if you have debt. Look at the things you DO have. Whether it’s your family, a car you love, a job you love, a dog you love or even some pumpkin chocolate chip cake. (Okay, I’m only mildly obsessed with cake.)
How to be Happy
There is an awesome TED talk I found on Upworthy about achieving happiness and some actions for you to take daily. I am challenging you right now to just try it … you know you want to.
1. Write down three new things that you’re grateful for.
2. Journal about one positive experience you’ve had in the last 24 hours.
3. Try meditation, teach your brain to focus.
4. Use the first email you write every day to praise or thank someone you know. Spread the happy!
Just for kicks, here’s what I do to be happy
Tip 1. Think positively. Pay attention to your thoughts for the rest of the day and see how many are negative or cause you stress. Your mind is super powerful, like magic, and you literally attract what you think.
Tip 2. Make a plan. Have a plan for your finances, if you don’t know where you’re going financially then how do you expect to get anywhere? Have a personal planner. Know what you’re doing for the day and month, have it planned out beforehand. You won’t feel so rushed.Â
Tip 3. Be charitable. It is proven that giving significantly increases your happiness more than receiving. I know, I know, you don’t believe me. Just try it. Make your neighbor some cookies (or me) and see how you feel. + it doesn’t hurt to get a little extra good karma!
Tip 4. Be aware of your financial decisions. Don’t rush into purchases that will cause you regret. Sleep on it, ask for some advice, then make your decision.
Those are super simple and something that you can even do in your busy life.
Positivity attracts positivity. A positive brain is 31% more productive.
Negativity attracts negativity.
Happiness = Positivity. Which then in turn equals financial success.
In the TED talk he mentions one significant thing about success:
“You don’t get happy by achieving success. You achieve success by getting happy.”
How it Helps my Financial Success
Make the success come to you by being the shiniest, positive person you know. You’ll be amazed at how much it can change your financial well-being. With all this new success you will practically be growing your own money tree in your backyard.
You won’t be stressing and worrying about the money you don’t have and rather will now be paying attention to the money you DO have. Changing your thoughts about it can help you to make better decisions about your money and what you should do with it.
I told you that by being positive you’re more productive right? Well, if you’re more productive you’ll actually take the steps necessary to improve your finances instead of just reading about them here. (I’m just kidding, you can still keep reading about them all you want just take action, too!)
By being financially mindful you can achieve financial stability and be happy with what you have instead of what you don’t.
How are you achieving happiness?
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