Hello Grasshoppa,
How do you define happiness? Is it something link to money or money does not matter to you? Most people will always link their happiness to money & they will usually say money can buy you happiness. Agree or disagree? Personally, I think that money can buy me happiness. Why? I’ve been talking a lot about financial freedom where my goal is to retire as a millionaire at age 40 & travel the world. It is also aligned with my passion for BJJ where I want to teach for free around the world. If I don’t have money, how can I do it? Some people also define their happiness by having lots of money so they can buy things that they want. This is the most common reason why people think that they need money to buy them happiness. In your definition, do you think money can buy you happiness? Let’s look into 2 different types of happiness that you can buy with money which is short term & long-term happiness.
Short Term Happiness
Usually, short term happiness comes when you have a goal of wanting to buy something but you are unable to buy it. You think that the moment you buy it, you will be the happiest person on earth. After you buy it, perhaps after 24 hours, you will feel less excited. It has happened to me many times, I set a goal of wanting to buy myself something but after I purchasing it, it feels normal. As a collector of BJJ Gis & watches, I am always excited when I am able to buy a new gi or watch. Maybe after a day or 2, it feels normal & I don’t feel the excitement as much as the anticipation anymore. Usually, it is related to items such as gadgets or other items that you are possessing. Compulsive buying is when you are buying things when you are having a bad day will always be short term happiness. When I started to work, I used to think that I can use the money to buy stuff that makes me happy. That has led to my bad spending habit & credit card debt. Am I truly happy after I got the things that I wanted? Honestly no, instead, it makes me so stressed out for a few years until I’ve cleared all my debts, I am truly happy.
Long Term Happiness
Long term happiness comes a lot from experiences & freedom where you are not bounded by any type of commitment that relates to money. It can be in a situation where all your debt is paid off & you have no worries monetary wise. As for the experience, it is all about experiencing things that you have not experienced before or travelled. Another factor that can make you feel happy for long term happiness is when you are involved in any sort of charity. I have a friend that earns a huge lump sum of money. Instead of using her money to buy herself a car or house, she uses the money to buy experience. Travelling & living in a luxury hotel all by herself. I can link long term happiness to satisfaction & experience. While writing this post, I am thinking about what truly makes me happy for the past 1 year. Buying my new car truly has made me happy up until today. My car is turning 1 year old soon but I am still happy because I can truly afford it without having any worries about how to pay off the loan & other expenses. The feeling of knowing that I can afford it & able to pay it within 5 years is happiness to me. My other happiness is on my recent house renovation. I bought my first house when I was in my early twenties but due to my bad spending habit, I had to sell it to pay off my debts. I couldn’t even afford to live in it as I have no money to apply for utilities. For my current house that I am living in, I’ve been spending money since the end of 2018 to get it into a liveable space. From a single mattress to a comfortable home. Currently, I am waiting for a friend of mine to complete the renovation of the kitchen & it is fully done. Spending money to make it a liveable space is satisfying to me especially when I know that I can afford it.
Another factor that I see in long term happiness where I have yet to achieve is when I achieve my financial freedom. Despite having to work harder to achieve it, I truly believe that it is worth it once I achieve it. That also means that I am able to travel the world & continue to spread my knowledge in BJJ for free. PS: I have also created my YouTube channel since April 2021 where I am sharing on BJJ & Personal Finance related topics. Hope you guys can help me out by subscribing to my channel.
Conclusion:
Many people define happiness differently & long-term happiness is commonly misunderstood as short-term happiness. Money can buy you happiness but it truly depends on what type of happiness that you are looking for. My mistake when I was young was to focus a lot on short term happiness. Always focus on the long terms ones as it can truly bring you happiness & satisfaction in the long run. Similar to how you set your goal, you can find your long-term happiness by setting a long-term goal. It will help to uncover your long-term happiness.
OSS!
You can also check out my latest YouTube video on 4 Effective Ways To Save Money From Your Daily or Monthly Spending:
