Happy Money
For many people, talking about money is stressful. Money represents worry, fear, working the 9 to 5 grind and paying the bills. Money represents debt, never having enough and trying to make ends meet. Some people even feel that money is evil, corrupt and only mastered by ‘bad people’. Our own relationship with money is important.
But what if we could make happy money? What if it only brought joy and hope? What if we could change our relationship with money? Let’s see if we can.
A Different Way To Think Of Money
Do you remember the very first time that you worked for and earned money? Maybe it was an allowance from your parents for doing your weekly chores. Or your first paycheck from your first job. In all likelihood, this made you feel happy.
It was money that you deserved and you also deserved the right to decide what to do with it. Assuming that you were debt-free, the sheer thought of spending this money gave you pure joy. It was going to provide you with fun or a gift for a loved one or something that you would save towards buying. This is Happy Money.
But what if instead of working for the money, you found the money? Maybe it had fallen out of someone’s wallet and you picked it up without letting the rightful owner know that it was there. You could still decide to spend it. It could still provide the same benefits to its new owner. But would it be Happy Money?
Money For Nothing
Our money can be happy or not so happy. Money that is hard-earned through our own efforts and that contributes to making our lives better is pretty great. There is a great sense of pride in doing a good job and being rewarded appropriately for our work. The more Happy Money we get, the better our lives will be.
Unfortunately, a large amount of the money that we receive feels a little like money for nothing. It’s money that goes towards paying debt or rent or taxes or bills. It’s definitely less happy. It may be necessary, but it lacks the joy associated with buying something of value or saving for our future.
Money From Nothing
There is money that disappears without feeling like it’s providing us with joy. There is also money that is not earned in the right way and that despite its value doesn’t feel so happy. If we steal, deceive, exploit or gamble our way to riches, we are not gaining happy money either.
This Unhappy Money might seem like a good idea at the time, but in the long run if we fill our wallets and our lives with unearned Unhappy Money then we are more likely to become unhappy people, always chasing more Unhappy Money.
How To Change Things Up
I recently stumbled upon a book called ‘Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace With Your Money’ by Ken Honda. It was found on the top shelf on the third floor of a second-hand bookstore in downtown Bangkok.
For the grand sum of 220 Baht (around $USD 6) of very Happy Money, I found a new way to think about money and my relationship with it.
Honda explores the idea that money can be a source of happiness when used in ways that align with our values and bring positivity to our lives. The book delves into various principles, such as the importance of giving, gratitude, and conscious spending, aiming to guide readers towards a more content and harmonious connection with their finances.
We can use these ideas to make ourselves feel better about the way that we earn our money and the ways that we spend it.
Guilt
Have you ever felt guilty after spending money? I certainly have. If we spend more than we really want to and don’t feel that it was worth it after reflecting on our decisions then we can feel bad. NOT HAPPY MONEY.
Buying clothes can make me feel guilty because I don’t often feel that I’ve received value for my spending. But for some people, this kind of spending might be completely guilt-free. We each have different feelings about how we spend our money. The key is to spend money in the right areas that make us feel happy. Ideally, this spending would make others feel happy too.
Renowned money guru Ramit Sethi talks about ‘guilt-free spending’. For him it’s expensive hotels. But in order to feel no guilt about this kind of extravagant spending, he balances his spending with frugal spending in many other areas. If we plan for extra spending in one area and work around it in other areas, and if it will bring us joy, then why not?
Another idea is that gratitude and generosity are key to making us feel that we own only happy money. Being grateful for what we do have helps to resist extravagant spending while generous spending on other people, especially those less fortunate than us, makes us happy too.
Defining Happy And Unhappy Money
Happy Money is the kind that a ten-year-old boy uses to buy flowers for his mum on Mother’s Day. Happy money is when parents gladly pinch pennies to be able to send their kids to soccer camp or take piano lessons. You can see that there are so many examples of happy money from your own life story. Think of a few right now.
All money circulated with love, care and friendship is Happy Money. It makes people smile and feel loved and cared for.
Conversely, Unhappy Money is money that we begrudgingly spend on things that we wish we didn’t have to and that we can see no real benefit to. We’ve all experienced Unhappy Money. Here are a few
- Getting paid for working a job that we hate
- Unwillingly paying off high-interest credit card debt
- Receiving money from somebody who resents paying you
- Stealing money – from anyone
It is not how much you make or have that makes you have Happy Money or Unhappy Money. It is the energy with which your money is given and received that determines your flow.
Unhappy Money attracts unhappy people and Happy Money does the opposite.
Can Rich People Have Happy Money Too?
Of course, they can. In fact many wealthy people attribute a large amount of their success to the desire to do something good with their money. Earning and spending happy money can help to create a nice cycle of opportunity that arises when people want to work with good people and share their abundance.
Many success stories are full of challenges, failure, disappointment and a desire to help one’s own family. Investing in themselves was happy money aimed at future happiness for themselves and others.
What’s In Your Wallet?
What kind of money are you carrying around right now? Check your wallet (or bank balance)
If you are happy with your work and life, your money is likely smiling in your wallet. If you hate your job and always complain about something in your life, your money is crying or angry in your wallet.
We all want our money to smile. So how can we make it so?
How To Make Your Money Happy
Happy Money leads to Happy People. Or is it the other way around?
You may say that if you just had more money then most of it would be happy because you would be happy. Being happy would coincide with less stress, less debt and being able to be more generous.
Perhaps to some extent this is true. But we know that money doesn’t really buy happiness. We all know of wealthy people that are miserable. We also know people who pretend to be wealthy and are just as miserable.
Gratitude
Practice being grateful. When we feel that we are lucky and that life is better than it is for most people on this planet, we tend to be less vulnerable to spending on the wrong stuff. We might then have more money available for more conscious or generous spending.
Spend Less Than You Earn
Saved money is Happy Money. It’s money working towards something special. It is ambitious, hopeful, joyous, Happy Money.
Avoid Lifestyle Creep
When we earn we tend to spend more. Why? If it is just because we are in some race to look as rich or richer than our neighbours or our friends, then guess what? That’s Unhappy Money right there. We could just as easily and without any fuss use the extra income for generosity or for future planning for things like college for the kids.
Stay Out Of Debt
Debt spending to finance consumer goods is Unhappy Money. You’ll feel a whole lot better when you pay cash. And forcing yourself to pay cash may even make you rethink whether or not the spending is actually Happy Money spending.
Work Towards Job Fullfilment
Money earned in a job that we hate is not Happy Money. This is a tough one to get right. Doesn’t everyone hate their job? Well, actually no. If we invest in our own skills and look to work with our strengths and passions then it is possible to make our earned income a little happier too. It should be a goal of all of us to enjoy the work that we do. It’s the ultimate way to make Happy Money.
In Conclusion
Once we recognise that not all money is made equal, then we have an opportunity to rethink everything in our lives that relates to money. Money doesn’t buy happiness. But our relationship with money can.
If we can see the difference between Happy and Unhappy Money, then just maybe we can shift the balance. More Happy Money in your wallet means a happier life.
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