Can money make you happy? This is the age-old question that almost everyone has to contemplate. If you got a million dollars tomorrow, would you be happy?
Sure, you would be happy at the moment, but would that “happiness” last for the next 10, 20, 30 years? For some, it would, but the thrill of the money would fade for many.
Today, I want to explore the relationship between money and happiness. For me, the pursuit of money has everything to do with freedom for myself, my wife, and my kids. How do freedom and happiness correlate?
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What is happiness? The blog VeryWellMind states that happiness is “an emotional state characterized by joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment.”
The four descriptors better represent the state of “being happy” than the term happiness. Over the last 40 years I have been alive, the statement “you deserve to be happy” has made many people sad.
We are setting people up for failure (even our children) when we aim for happiness because, as the definition says, it’s an emotional state. It’s hard to chase an emotion. People today are leaving good marriages, jobs, and situations to “be happy.”
The four descriptors align with what people should head towards—joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment. Here are my simple definitions for each.
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Joy is the feeling of complete life satisfaction in a moment. We shouldn’t try to keep the sense of joy at all times because then we wouldn’t appreciate it when it comes. When I sit outside with my wife, on a beautiful Florida morning, overlooking our green acreage, drinking coffee, I feel joy.
Satisfaction is knowing that we accomplished something we set out to do. We have the feeling until we set out on our new mission. However, we can always look back and know we achieved our goals.
Contentment is something we should all strive for in our lives. It is the long-term feeling of happiness. It keeps us motivated and excited about our lives. We may have emergencies, money issues, or a crappy job, but overall we understand we have extraordinary lives. The feeling of contentment would better serve more people than chasing happiness.
Fulfillment is a mix of content and satisfaction. I think fulfillment comes as we share this satisfaction, joy, and contentment with someone else. Humans are social creatures, and we need to express our feelings to someone to get that final feeling of fulfillment.
Putting it all together. I recently wrote an article titled “Grace & Passive Income,” where I discuss how we should all wake up and say how content and fulfilled we are with our lives.
Showing grace is the final step to having total joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment. If we can get to the point where we appreciate our lives, the people in our lives, and our things, it will lead to happiness.
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Here comes the money. So how does money fit into our lives? This is the million-dollar question. How can we balance money, work, family, and success?
A survey says something to the effect of “we are most happy when we earn about $75,000/year in income.”
I understand the sentiment, but I disagree. It should read, “We are most happy when we live on a $75,000/year budget in income.”
Do you see the difference? My wife and I make much more than $75,000/year in household income, yet we live on roughly that amount. The rest of the money we use to pursue freedom.
To be truly free. My article “To be Truly Free: You’ll Need $20,000/month in Passive Income” explains my thoughts.
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My wife and I are not chasing money to show off our wealth, buy nice things, or live a lavish lifestyle. We pursue wealth to ensure our family never worries about money.
For example, let’s say my wife and I retire today and make $6,000/month in passive income from my military retirement, dividends, and rents. This is actually a reasonable amount, until…
The problem with money. The problem with not pursuing money or wealth is that things happen. Our $6,000/month income may be enough in 2022, but what about 2024?
What if inflation increases to 10%, the stock market crashes, and the real estate markets collapse? Hey, at least I have my book business to assist in rough times.
I am not writing books to build my ego and show off to others. I am writing to help our quest towards financial independence.
When we reach $20,000/month in passive income, we will continue to build income streams. Not for the money, but because it makes us content. We are ensuring we can assist our children and grandchildren.
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We own three houses, and they are a pain sometimes. However, we keep them because they represent freedom for our two children. They will never have to play the “I can’t afford a house” game.
Pursue Money for Freedom, not Happiness. If you pursue money for worldly things, then you have already lost. If you are looking for love but focus on finances first, you have already lost.
My wife and I have a strong marriage because we have the same goals in life. Our goals include; working hard, buying our freedom, enjoying each other’s company, being nice to one another, and providing for our children.
I would love to say that I was happy every single day, but life doesn’t operate this way. We may be having a great day, and then one of our air conditioners malfunctions.
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I may be excited to get orders to Florida, but I get orders to California instead (true story). However, overall I am content with my remarkable life. Sometimes, the stars align, and you have the purest feeling of happiness you can imagine.
This happens because of hard work, staying out of debt, building great relationships, and taking complete ownership of your life. How can you attempt to achieve happiness if you aren’t doing these things?
Conclusion. Life isn’t supposed to be easy—it is supposed to be a grind. The things that remove the monotony from life are family, friends, and relationships.
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To give ourselves a chance to be genuinely content, we need money. Sorry, unless you become a monk or nun, you’ll need resources. Understanding money is probably the second most crucial part of reaching happiness.
First and foremost, you need to be humble, kind, caring, and open to building relationships. Having a closer network of friends and family motivates us to continue pursuing our dreams.
Happiness isn’t free. It comes from slowly removing ourselves from the daily grind into a passive income lifestyle. Once we become financially independent, we want our people with us to share and enjoy it. Now, that’s happiness.
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. All Right Reserved Military Family Investing
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