We all know the old saying, "Money can't buy happiness." Well, I'm here to disagree! Let me start by saying that if you are looking at money as "if I just have a little more I'll be happy" with no specific numbers in mind or thoughts about what you'll do with the money, then it will NOT buy you happiness. We've all heard the horror stories of lottery winners who go through all their money & are then miserable just a few years later.
However...if your mindset is in the right place, your spending habits are in check & your financial goals top of mind, more money can absolutely buy you happiness! Think about all the tasks you hate to do - I'll start:
Yard work (I like mowing the lawn, but absolutely nothing else)
Cleaning my house
Cleaning the gutters
Guess what?! Those are all things I could PAY someone else to do, while I do literally anything else. Paying someone to do those things not only provides me the opportunity to NOT do those things I hate, but it also gives me back TIME, & time is priceless.
Now think about all the things you love to do but don't get to do as often as you would like. I'll start:
Get a massage (once a week would be amazing)
Take a week long vacation
Take more weekend road trips to nearby cities
These are all things I could do more often with more money! These experiences are what is most important to me in life. And I do all of those things, but I would absolutely love to do more of them which I would, with more money.
Money alone will not buy happiness, & if you are looking at money ONLY as a number that you want to bring you happiness, you will likely never achieve that happiness no matter how much money you have. But if you do the mindset work & really break it down to the things you hate to do that you could pay someone to do, & the things you love to do that you could do more of, then you can see how money could indeed bring more happiness into your life.
Making these two lists is also a great way to build motivation as you are going through your financial journey. If you are wanting to pay off debt, put more in your savings and/or curtail your spending habits, this exercise is a great way to feel motivated to reach your goals.
So the next time someone says, "Well, money can't buy happiness!" feel free to disagree. :)

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