With the downturn in the economy this past year,
many of us are having to rethink our relationship
with money. This month, I am pleased to share the
sage words of my husband Christopher W. Beale, a
Certified Financial Planner and owner of his own
financial planning practice for over 25 years. These
are his words to his clients:
Thank God that money can't buy happiness. This is
not a twisted way of telling you to feel good about
the loss of wealth you may have experienced in your
401(k), real estate, or other investments over the
last year. I believe my personal practice of being
grateful and thanking God daily for the abundance of
gifts that have been given to me enhances my
happiness and inner peace, and allows me to be in a
position to give and receive more and more each day.
When asked "what would improve the quality of
your life?" Americans say "more money". More
specifically, psychologist David Myers says the
modern American dream is life, liberty and the
purchase of happiness. The rich may indeed think
they're happier than the poor, but does that
increased wealth lead to greater peace of mind? In
his book, "Your Money And Your Brain, How The New
Science Of NeuroEconomics Can Help Make You Rich",
author Jason Zweig quotes a survey showing 19% of
people with a net worth (all assets including bank
accounts, retirement accounts, real estate minus all
liabilities and loans) of $500,000 agreed with the
statement "having enough money is a constant worry
in my life". When people whose net worth was at
least $10 million were asked the same question, 33%
agreed.
In another survey, Zweig also found that in 1957
(the average annual income then was $10,000), 35% of
Americans said they were "very happy" with their
lives. By 2004 when the average income has tripled
adjusted for inflation, just 34% said they were
"very happy" with their lives. Apparently tripling
real income with iPods, cell phones, Coach Bags, air
conditioning and other modern appliances didn't
create greater happiness. Assuming we have enough
money to meet basic human needs, extra wealth does
not buy extra happiness.
So how can we achieve greater happiness,
especially now during the Great Recession 2008-2009?
I think if we increase our understanding of money
and our relationship with money, we can get back to
what truly makes us happy and gives us inner peace.
Everyone has a relationship with money. This
relationship starts at an early age and develops
over our lives. The money relationship we have, like
any other relationship, can be positive, negative,
dysfunctional, all-consuming (pun intended), etc.
How we define our relationship with money and the
value we put on money itself can increase or
decrease our happiness and peace of mind.
My money relationship starts by me consciously
putting money in its proper place. I am not talking
about asset allocation. Money or wealth should be a
means to an end, not an end in itself. Happiness
never comes from wealth alone. Happiness and
peace comes from aspiring to live a balanced life,
from being physically, emotionally, mentally,
socially, and spiritually healthy. We all know
people who are financially rich but are physically,
emotionally, or spiritually broke.
If we concentrate on increasing our meaning,
instead of just increasing our means, we will
ultimately increase our happiness. Money with out
meaning is an empty promise.
My challenge to you today is to write down every
thing in your life for which you are grateful. The
following day, again, write down everything for
which you are grateful, that happened that day. I
promise this five minute per day exercise will make
a meaningful difference in your life.
