Meaningful Money 101: The Road to Financial Happiness

Have you ever spent money on something that you have been absolutely convinced that you needed only to find that, once the purchase is made, that the item does not provide the joy you anticipated? Did you even end up using the item? Welcome to what is typically known as buyer’s remorse. On the road to financial happiness, buyer’s remorse can be seen as a road block or an obstacle.

You know how they say that life is about the journey, not the destination. This saying often applies to many purchases we make. Think about all those unused appliances in your kitchen (the Kitchen Aid you were convinced you had to have, the Vitamix you felt you could not live without) and in your closet (that purse that you were convinced would make you the happiest person alive, the shoes that you absolutely had to have…) and so on. Sometimes the time spent coveting an item is actually the most exciting part (the journey) and the actually ownership part is disappointing (the destination).

In a previous post, I talked about that “one thing” that makes you happiest.  How much of our money goes towards other things that are totally unrelated to our “one thing?” Part of it is human nature, we always want more, are always seeking ways to improve ourselves and our lives. This is not a bad thing. Sometimes, though, we are so lucky to have so many opportunities and options from which to choose that we can easily get distracted or taken off on a tangent.

That is why it is important to constantly reassess your life and ask yourself the question – what things am I doing that really make me happy? What items am I spending money on that are really making an impact on my life and on my happiness? In other words, what items or services am I spending my money on that are really meaningful? For a quick 5-minute exercise to check how meaningful your spending is, see this post.