My philosophy on MONEY and how it can make you happy.

Greetings,

Today I decided to make my second post and share my philosophy on.... MONEY and how it can derive happiness.
For those of you who are already shaking your head and denying this, I ask you to just keep reading with a neutral point of view if you will. I don't want this to be another cliché article you read on the web, so be calm, this is my self explanation on the subject.

I can't help but wonder why this topic tends to be something uncomfortable for some people to talk about or even in some cultures, a form of impoliteness when in reality, it isn't.

The way I see it is, there is two opposite poles when it comes about money:

• Those who say they don't need money, that they are "okay" with what they have & how they live and to some extent, those who even criticize wealthy people. In other words conformists. (Here I don't include people who are satisfied because they can actually provide an adequate quality of life for themselves)

• People who need it so bad that it just gets to a point where they feel useless and unsatisfied if they don't reach a point where they can't materialize all their dreams. In other words desperate or needy.

Don't feel offended if you fall within one of these assumptions, I will tell you how you can reach a point of balance which will improve the way you see things and consequently improve your quality of life, that is, if you have the right mindset.

The key point here is BALANCE, this is not a matter of needing or not needing money but rather a preference to have it.
At the end of the day, money is nothing but a mean to obtain products or services, that is it. But the capacity of affording such goods can greatly impact the quality of life you provide for yourself and the ones you love. And such capacity is determined by the mindset you have and the actual encouragement you have about improving your life. Opportunities play a big role as well but that is an external factor, a factor that has been defied many times and resulted in a complete success story as is the case of a heroin addict who went from being a junkie to the owner of his own million dollar enterprise for example.

By right Mindset I mean:

• Reaching a point of balance and not falling within one of the two assumptions mentioned before.

• Spending less than what you make, not living by the day or from hand to mouth. Working a 9 to 5 from Monday to Friday just to spend it all on the weekend is not going to change your economic status and the way things go for you.

• Diversifying risk and not relying only in one source of income which will not only give you a margin for safety but will also provide abundance (You never know when you can get laid off or fired from your job).

• Visualizing opportunities and taking action. (You don't want to be that person who regrets not making a certain choice 10-20 years ago for the rest of their life and just bearing the idea of "what if")

I know these 3 points can be a bit general, but for the purpose avoiding to be off-topic I will keep it short and will develop them with more depth in another post.

Moving over to the "money can make you happy" premise. I would just like to clear things out by saying that this could vary from person to person, more precisely, people from a different economic status.

• The happiness derived from a poor father of four who finally manages to give their family a proper meal.
• The happiness derived from a medium class father who can finally afford to send his girl to college.
• The happiness derived from an upper class father who can finally afford to travel the world with his family.

These are just simple examples I made up but you can clearly see something in common.
Spending money on yourself wether it is to buy a house, travel, eat, get a degree, etc. Can of course provide a sense of fulfillment and happiness. But it cannot be compared in any way when you share that with some one else which can be more self-rewarding.

Notice that I never mentioned anything about luxurious cars, houses, clothes, etc. Because in the end, that's just luxury, not a need; and it is proven that within a certain range of income comes happiness. Being able to satisfy a need = happiness. Because going from living in a trailer house or even worse, living on the street and then moving to a decent apartment/house will indeed impact your quality of life and make you happier. But that won't necessarily apply when you already live in decent house and decide to move to a more expensive & big one.

To wrap it up, there is no better feeling than going to bed knowing that your fridge is full and you won't have to worry about how you are going to manage to get food if you don't have the money, knowing that you are not in debt and in the need to cover your mortgage of your new home and knowing that if any kind of emergency comes up, you have enough to cover the expenses. Also don't forget the small luxuries we can give ourselves that can contribute as well. There are many more examples but... you get the idea!

I hope this gives you a better perspective and even helps you improve the life you are living, I really hope so.

If you have anything to share or have any questions make sure to comment below.

In my upcoming posts, I will share tips to make more money, talk about financial freedom, experiences I've had with millionaires and what I learned from them & many other ideas I may come up with. If you have any suggestions, let me know! :)

Have a wonderful day.