What Does Financial Happiness Really Mean?

The more you have, the more you need.

The less you have, the more you need.

The truth is, we are often never happy with what we have. Somewhere, we are left feeling like we need more. Think about it -

Even when you have a wardrobe full of clothes, you still feel like you’ve nothing to wear.

Or when you purchase a new gadget, a year later you want an upgrade to the latest model.

Even when you’ve just come back from a beautiful trip to Goa and you see a social media post of a friend who’s enjoying a cocktail in the Maldives, you automatically feel like your trip wasn’t good enough.

Let’s face it - any materialistic need never quenches our thirst for wanting more. And the foundation of any materialistic need is money.

When I talk about money, there is an analogy that comes to mind.

Imagine that our desires are like seeds and money is like water. To nurture that seed, you need to keep watering. And as you see one seed beautifully grow, you sow more seeds thereby needing more water. And just like that our wants become needs, and our desires never seem enough.

As a child, I remember how my mother used to give me money to go buy groceries for the house. When I asked my mother innocently where we get this money from, she explained to me that your father works very hard to earn money to fulfil our family’s needs so that we could live happily. So early on, this belief stuck with me - if I need to be happy I need to have money.

This simple belief stayed in my subconscious mind and propelled me to get a double degree and eventually land a high paying job. As the years rolled by, I noticed that I was on a loop - I would go partying every Friday, shop on Sundays, and get up on Monday to only do the same thing all over again. For the first time I realised, that even though I had money in my bank account, I wasn’t truly feeling happy inside. It felt like I was on autopilot - on this never-ending treadmill of earning money and spending money. At the same time, I had taken loans to buy a car and a house.

I began to think, why was I buying all of these things? Did I really want all this stuff or was I simply buying things to look good in front of others? When I took the time to honestly answer these questions, I knew what I had to do. I needed to change my lifestyle and align it with my real goals and aspirations.

So I left that job and moved to a job that paid less but was sure to provide me with more work satisfaction and add meaning to my life. I now live in a small room where nature is on my doorstep and I actually have the time to hear the birds chirp, smell the beautiful flowers and watch serene sunsets from my balcony. Now, I earn enough money to fulfill my basic needs - I no longer have any loans to clear and don’t even own a vehicle. Instead, I choose to spend my money on my true interests - like for travel, books and to learn new art forms.

But this isn’t to say that money is not important. I mean everything revolves around money because it’s the only valuable currency of exchange! Having enough money gives you the freedom to take risks and have control of your life. Most importantly, having enough helps you live without insane amounts of stress.

The challenge is when you start making your whole life about earning more and more money. I often see so many friends missing the simple joys in life like spending time with their partner or playing with their kids in the garden or actually enjoying a wholesome meal with their family.

Instead, I see them spending hours in a job they truly don’t like and spending money on a house they barely have time to spend in. Before they know it, this desire to earn money becomes their driving purpose in life and they get into a vicious cycle of wanting more. It becomes a sort of “status symbol” which becomes very hard to give up.

As Will Rogers rightly said-“Too many people spend money they earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people that they don't like.”

I think ultimately financial happiness comes down to “balance”. Yes, money is important. But it’s dangerous if it becomes the centre of your life. Money is needed to cover your necessities and provide you the fuel to pursue your goals and passions.

The key is to set realistic goals that will actually make you excited every day - the kind of goals that are authentic to you and that will actually keep your physical and mental health intact.

Use money as a tool to achieve these goals, but don’t set money as the goal itself. If you pursue your goals persistently, the money will follow.

Now I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject! What does financial happiness really mean to you? Tell me in the comments below :)