Money Happiness
Every day I meet with people seeking … something. Sometimes it is wealth. Or financial security or freedom. To achieve a goal or dream of retirement, buying a home or sending their children to college. But ultimately, what they truly want is money happiness. They want to use their money in a way that brings joy, not guilt, into their lives, every day.
As I’ve shared before, money is emotional and it is very easy to let our emotions guide our decisions, which often leads to poor choices where we buy things to appease our feelings and to feel good. To experience that temporary high something new gives you. Some of you may think that doesn’t sound so awful and it may not be short-term. The problem is we sacrifice our true wants, goals and dreams when we feed our emotions, especially when it becomes a habit. We get distracted and lose sight of our goals while also spending money on things that don’t truly give us long-term satisfaction.
What is Your Relationship with Money?
In many cases, I initially find your money emotions are in the driver’s seat, not you. People covet money but they also tend to fear it. They think it is mysterious, something to avoid or a corrupter. We don’t realize how much our money emotions, which can vary from situation-to-situation, affect our lives. Before you can truly find your money happiness, you need to understand (and frequently fix) your relationship with money.
Also Read:
The 5 Commandments of Money Happiness
Unlock Your Money Happiness in 3 Steps
Get Financially Real to Find Your Money Happiness
Money happiness means owning your financial power, which feels so good and changes how you experience life. It is well worth getting Financially Real and doing the work to find your money happiness.
How Money Happiness Will Change Your Life
I’ve shared with you previously on how-to find your money happiness, but today I’d like to focus on some of the many benefits you’ll experience once you reclaim your money power.
Benefit #1: Live Guilt-Free
The two big money emotions I find many people carry deep inside of them revolve around guilt and fear. They make us spend too much or too little, second-guess every decision, feel ashamed about the things we want or have and rob of us our money confidence. The good news? Once you find your money happiness, your guilt and fear significantly diminish because you’ve given your money purpose and make value-based decisions. You now make confident decisions with your money without concern about “keeping up” or pleasing others. You live your own life on your terms, guilt-free.
Benefit #2: Feel Joy Not Envy When Others Succeed
This is something most of us don’t like to admit, but we occasionally get pangs of jealously or envy when others succeed. We may even be genuinely happy for them and still find ourselves constantly wondering “why them and not me?” or “when will it be my turn”? We have been highly conditioned as a society to compete with one another, even when there is no actual competition between us.
This is something I work actively with myself and my daughters to address because these emotions are incredibly powerful and prevent us from appreciating our own achievements. It fuels those desires to “keep up” and puts our emotions back in the driver’s seat. When I hear that little edge of jealously creep into my daughters’ voices or in my own head, I immediately stop that train of thought in its tracks and turn to gratitude. To recognize and appreciate our many blessings AND to give thanks for our friends’ blessings too. This helps us stop comparing our worth against others.
It takes time to train your brain to recognize the signals and do a gratitude reframe, but it is worth the effort. Envy and jealously are big blockers of joy and happiness, so you have to find a way to address them and get them under control.
Benefit #3: See Opportunities and Possibilities
Once you feel in control of your money and able to make confident value-based decisions, you’ll also notice that the world seems bigger. There are opportunities all around you, just waiting for you to grab them. It doesn’t mean every opportunity is right for you, but now you’re in the right mindset to assess and take advantage of the ones that do.
This is a huge mindset shift and can bring so much positive change to your life. And not just in your attitude, but the possibilities you see. Most tend to live small (and I don’t mean how much we spend) and our money happiness allows us to think big. Most importantly, we go from dreaming about a better life to taking the actions necessary to make it a reality.
Benefit #4: Bounce Back Faster from Setbacks
Beyond our increased ability to see opportunities and possibilities, we also have stronger coping skills when things go wrong too. Money happiness won’t guarantee every day will be sunshine and roses, but it does help you power through setbacks. To not get stuck and unable to move forward. I see this frequently where people have failed (or at least they have in their own mind) and they can’t move past it. They beat themselves up over their failure and/or mistake. Happy people step back and assess the situation. They look for the lesson and move on. They don’t let a setback, such as debt, be “their story”.
Benefit #5: Enjoy Stronger, Supportive Relationships
Money is often cited as the #1 factor behind divorce. This doesn’t shock me because unfortunately, a lack of money transparency and shared goals are two common problems in many relationships. Fortunately, part of the process of finding your money happiness addresses those two issues and helps you resolve them.
Because you now have a strong handle on your money emotions and how they influence you and your actions, your relationships will begin to change. You will stop unconsciously competing with others, so their success no longer makes you question your own worth. You won’t stress over whether or not others approve of how you use your money because you spend your money in alignment with your values and goals. You’ll become a better spouse, family member, friend, co-worker and parent because you are in balance.
Also Read:
How To Love Your Sweetheart Financially
Couples Financial Therapy: 4 Keys to a Happy Marriage
Benefit# 6: Experience Better Health
While being happy won’t miraculously cure you of all your ailments or stave off illness, you should experience better health. Why? Because when we are happier, we tend to take better care of ourselves. We exercise regularly, eat healthier and get enough sleep. We don’t skip annual check-ups, which helps detect any problems early and improves odds of recovery. Additionally, our ability to handle stress is higher, so we don’t fall prey to old temptations, like overeating or overspending to alleviate pressure.
Benefit #7: A Higher Overall General Contentment
Most of the time when you see me, I have a big smile on my face. I am genuinely happy. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have bad days or problems, but my normal mode is happiness. My life is busy and chaotic and I love every minute of it. Why? Because I am confident that I am spending both my time and money on the things that truly matter to me. My life fulfills me. There are still opportunities and things I want to achieve, and my money happiness helps me feel confident in my ability to create my ideal life.
Now You’re Living the Good Life
Money happiness doesn’t happen overnight, but you can take immediate steps to put you on the path to reclaim your financial power and use your money with joy. Money happiness will change your perspective and help you truly live the life you always wanted for you and your family.
What are some of the benefits you’ve experienced after finding your money happiness?
Shannon
June 8, 2015 • 39 Comments • Money Happiness
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Comments
Monday, June 8th, 2015
Love this! I have found/reached money happiness and it really does impact my life in many different ways. I love benefit #3 that you mentioned about seeing and experiencing opportunities and possibilities - that is a great benefit of reaching money happiness!
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Thanks, Michelle! It really does change your whole life. Yes, #3 is an incredibly powerful benefit as it often leads to earning more money for you to enjoy too. :)
Monday, June 8th, 2015
Once we made a commitment to get out of debt we as a family began to communicate better, and as we gained more control over our money this stress associated with it was gone. There have been other benefits to find our money happiness, but these have been the biggest two for us.
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Communication is definitely a major benefit of money happiness. It is sad how much a lack of communication causes problem between couples and in families, especially since it so avoidable.
Monday, June 8th, 2015
"It doesn’t mean every opportunity is right for you, but now you’re in the right mindset to assess and take advantage of the ones that do." I LOVE this Shannon! Like you said, this is such a big transition to make and one that I thought would be challenging at first but find it to be such a necessary mindset to have. I think it naturally transitions into your last point of having contentment as it helps you to find things that will make you happy.
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Thanks, John! It is a huge transition to see almost unlimited opportunities and possibilities but they exist and are waiting for you. It really does help you increase your overall contentment because you really feel as though you are truly living life to the fullest.
Monday, June 8th, 2015
Really enjoyed this article and I'm hoping to feel the full benefits of money happiness in the near future!
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Thanks, Petrish! I have no doubt you'll be experiencing the full benefits of money happiness in the near future; you're talking all the right steps to get there. :)
Monday, June 8th, 2015
Great post! Finding money happiness is a great feeling. To me, money happiness is not about having it all, but not worrying about money... live guilt free I guess.
I also like that I now see the world in a different way. There are more opportunities (#3) that I just didn't or couldn't see before.
I haven't reached financial independence (not even close yet), but I like the path that I'm on, and I guess that's my money happiness.
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
The best thing to me about money happiness is you can actually have it before you experience financially freedom because of the work you're doing to achieve independence. Plus, I have found that financial freedom doesn't automatically mean you have money happiness because if you're not using your money in alignment with your values and goals, you're likely not spending money with joy, even if you don't have debt.
Monday, June 8th, 2015
I think you have to take immediate steps to get you on your journey toward money happiness -- otherwise, it becomes a long lost wish. To me, it's certainly something worth investing in and fighting for.
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
I agree, Natalie. It is absolutely worth investing and working towards!
Monday, June 8th, 2015
Wonderful post! Too many people equate having more money to being happy but having more doesn't necessarily bring money happiness. I think #7 is so important. When you are financially real and are confident in how and what you spend your money on...you're in control and in the driver's seat. That is much more important.
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Thanks, Andrew! So true, people think money happiness comes from having more money but it's actually derives from how you use your money, not how much you have. Being in the driver's seat and in control of your money makes a huge difference in how you live your life.
Monday, June 8th, 2015
I love this list and totally agree about bouncing back after setbacks. I encourage my clients to work on and built up their assets to only for their future financial health but so that I can help them avoid the stresses of money surprises. I always say that $1,000 - $2,000 events should never be a surprise to anyone, the only surprise is what type of event it is i.e. healthcare, car, home, kids, etc. and when you have assets in place, you can weather those events much easier than you could if you didn't, emotionally and financially.
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Thanks, Shannon. I agree - $1-2k events shouldn't be a surprise or derail your financial health because those kinds of events are all too common. And it's true when you have a robust emergency fund, it makes so much easier to bounce back from setbacks and weather whatever curveballs life throws at you.
Monday, June 8th, 2015
I like what you said about bouncing back from setbacks. I always notice that I'm WAY more calmer if some unexpected bill comes in when I'm being more financially responsible, and/or I just have more money in my account. If this list doesn't motivate people, I don't know what will!
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
It's true - we can handle setbacks or unexpected bills much calmly and with less stress when we have money happiness. And I certainly hope the list motivates people to take action and find their money happiness. It's worth the effort!
Monday, June 8th, 2015
I't so true that money and health have a really strong relationship. I can't tell you how many people I've seen in practice who go through financial struggles and their health bottoms out either from stress or from cutting corners. I'm guilty of that myself but have improved tremendously over the past few years.
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
I don't think a lot of people realize how much stress affects their health and a lot of stress is money-related. Money happiness affects almost every aspect of our life in a positive way.
Monday, June 8th, 2015
It's interesting how each of these 7 things literally have thousands of books written about them. I don't think it's a coincidence. People are desperate for these things and I think lives would be changed instantly if people were able to simply be happy for other people's success instead of envy them. Envy is a huge issue in the US.
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Great point, DC. People are desperate to achieve these benefits and envy is one of the biggest blockers of happiness overall. Somehow or another we have gotten to the unfortunate point where people truly struggle to be happy when others succeed. It's something I take very seriously and don't want to the girls to develop that mindset or reaction.
Tuesday, June 9th, 2015
Once I started getting my finances organized, I DID start feel guilt-free. It's so true that people carry guilt and fear, especially when they're in debt or overdue on bills. I'm not quite there yet, but I do feel like I'm finally on the path to finding my money happiness!
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Getting on the path to money happiness really starts to help change your perspective and see all the possibilities, Niomi. I'm glad your on the path now and learning to live guilt-free.
Tuesday, June 9th, 2015
#7 is huge for me...and it really drives all the rest. If I'm happy with what I have, and concentrate on just making my life the best it can be, then all the rest just falls into place. Happy people are not thankful, thankful people are happy. :)
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
I love that, Travis - "Happy people are not thankful, thankful people are happy". It's so true and a philosophy that I live by.
Tuesday, June 9th, 2015
Great list, Shannon!
So many people spend their lives worrying about money, and fighting about money. There is really no price tag on the calmness that peace comes along with financial security.
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Yes, peace of mind is a huge benefit of taking back control over your money and creating financial security. It's priceless!
Tuesday, June 9th, 2015
It brings a sense of relief. Once you address your money issues and start tackling them, you don't feel under constant pressure. Even when life gets challenging.
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Very true, Tre. That sense of relief of taking action is so powerful and being able to let go of that stress gives you the energy to stay motivated and keep moving forward.
Wednesday, June 10th, 2015
I always feel happy and inspired when people achieve something in life. I think it is because I am a positive person and I feel challenged to do it as well. There has never been a bit of jealousy.
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
That's great, Jayson. I wish more people had that response. Unfortunately for too many, jealousy does reign it's ugly head. You have the right attitude, which makes all the difference.
Wednesday, June 10th, 2015
I definitely see #2 in successful people I know. People who have found success want the same for their friends and family!
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Great point, Holly. Truly successful people don't hoard their "secrets" but share them and want others to succeed and even exceed their own success.
Wednesday, June 10th, 2015
Awesome post! To me Money Happiness is the process of striving towards your potential using money as a catalyst, not a burden. Really like Benefit #3: See Opportunities and Possibilities. This is exactly why I urge others to live a debt-free life. It allows us to seek opportunities and dismiss obligations. Thanks for posting!
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Thanks, Luke! Money should absolutely be a catalyst and not burden and that's a great way to look at money happiness. Being able to see opportunities is such a blessing and definite perk of money happiness. Thank you for visiting and commenting. I appreciate you stopping by!
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Great post Shannon. There are so many benefits of being happy with your financial situation and money decisions. Some of these I hadn't really thought about. :)
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Shannon Ryan
Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Thanks, Kayla! There are definite perks to money happiness and the perspective it gives you. It's worth the effort to achieve!
Evelyn
Monday, February 8th, 2021
Wow thank you. Simple and to the point.
It's never too late to learn, switch my mindset and change my life.Thank you again
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