Does Money Make You Happy?

This is a question that I have asked many clients, and it never amaze me the answers that I get. Some clients such as P.J. feel that money makes them feel important. It allows them the ability to dress nice, travel abroad and buy really cool toys. Being a young, single male who recently graduated from college, I can relate to his thought pattern. He feels that money is to be enjoyed today and that the future will take care of itself. Actually I have counseled older individuals that think the same way.

I have other clients, like S.C., who hoard every penny they make. S.C.,a single mother in her 30’s, feels that in order for her to be a “good parent” that she must make sure that she pays for her child’s college. This feeling may have come from the fact that her parents were not able to pay for her to go to college when she was younger.

I understand why both P.J. and S.C. think about money the way that they do, however, there are positives and negatives to both approaches. As a young college grad years ago, I too just wanted to travel and have fun. I didn’t think twice about charging things to my credit card such as rims for my car. I could care less about saving for retirement, or anything else for that matter, such as a house. The problem with thinking like this is that after all the spending you are left with a lot of debt and the benefit of working until you die.

The problem with S.C. is that she is missing out on enjoying life today, obsessing over the future. Having a family should not be an excuse for individuals to forgo everything today. From my experiences, meeting in the middle is the best solution. As long as one does not have debt, then they should budget a certain amount monthly, quarterly or annually in which to have fun. That can be vacations, shopping, ski diving or anything else that is fun. But the key thing to remember is if one is COMPLETELY debt free, except for the house.