As the Beatles song says, "money can't buy love." And it would be petty and disgusting to think that money is happiness …
What is happiness? For everyone it is something different. Happiness can be freeing from debt, buying your own home, or for someone owning their own island (although think how difficult it is to clean the whole island - no, this is definitely not for me). Indeed, once we determine what makes us happy, money can actually buy us happiness, at least make us happier.
It's just money
Billionaire Mark Cuban was asked what advice he would give to the national Powerball jackpot winner, the billionaire rookie. Here are two quotes from his answer:
“If you were unhappy yesterday, you will not be happy tomorrow. This is money. This is not happiness."
“If you were happy yesterday, you will be much happier tomorrow. This is money. Life becomes easier when you don't have to worry about paying bills."
Money itself is just money. But if you direct them to your priorities in life and you have a life full of the things that matter most to you, well, that will be a happy life.
How money can make you happy
My friend and wife love to dine in restaurants. For months (or even years) he tried to limit the amount of money they spend on restaurants, but in the end it still turned out that they spent more this month than the previous one.
When we discussed their financial situation, their goals and aspirations, we came to the conclusion that eating in restaurants makes them happy. It sounds pretty ridiculous, but they really feel happy when they can afford to visit various restaurants on a regular basis. As a result, when drawing up a financial plan, we transferred money from several other categories to the category "Restaurants" and slightly increased it in size.
But don't think that all their money is now going to restaurants. When drawing up the budget, they decided to be more reasonable in these costs. As a result, they began to visit restaurants even less often, but they stopped worrying about it, stopped feeling guilty about unnecessary and uncontrolled expenses, and began to feel happy.
No stress + no guilt + freedom = happiness
This is simple arithmetic. While happiness is subjective, when it comes to money, happiness usually includes being able to spend without guilt, not being stressed about money, and having the freedom to make decisions.
If you feel unhappy and decide to go shopping for a mood boost that you really can't afford, the joy you get quickly turns into regret and guilt.
If you ignore your loan debts, your burden will grow heavier and heavier until happiness is only a long-standing memory. And in most cases, not having a certain level of financial freedom will negatively affect your happiness.
Financial planning = no stress + no guilt + freedom
Forgive me, but purely arithmetically it turns out that financial planning is happiness. When you plan money in the category of expenses in which you really want, or that you really need, then when spending this money you do not have a sense of guilt.
When you set up a contingency fund (hello to my old fridge), you realize that you are no longer under constant stress over money.
And if you're dreaming of big changes in your life, such as starting your own business or major career changes, planning your transition budget will give you more leeway than the blue-faced, kilt-wearing Mel Gibson riding a horse.
Perhaps the Beatles were wrong after all, underestimating the role of money in our lives. It seems that they themselves eventually changed their minds (song "Money. That's all I want"). And most likely, money really won't buy love or happiness if you feel deeply unhappy. But when you start planning your finances for the things that make you happy, arithmetic starts to work in your favor.
