Happier Man Money

The happier man money basics are that money is critical to the quality of your life and having more will improve your happiness.

You may struggle with money for large parts of your life but you can make improvements as long as you keep working and persevere.

I certainly was broke and struggling with money for most of my life.  But I kept working and keeping positive about it and never gave up.

The best things in life are not free and I want to enjoy the best things because money does buy happiness.

Simple Money Ideas to Ensure a Great Life

  • Earn the happier income level or so.
  • You pay very little interest as you are working on eliminating your debts.
  • Save about 10% to 20% of your yearly gross income for the future you.
  • Pay your bills early in skip ahead style.
  • Carry enough cash and credit for a wild night on the town or to get you out of serious trouble or have some serious fun.

Happier Man Money
Earn the Happier Income Level

There have been a variety of studies detailing how much of an income you need to earn in the west to get to the happiness level.  Those studies indicated that about $75,000 per year would get you up into the happier income level.   I wrote about the happier income level too. (Note:  it appears that the happier income level probably needs to be increased by about $10,000 a year for inflation).

It's not really possible to be long-term happy if you make significantly less than this amount for too much of your life or if the money you earn is inconsistent or if what you do you don't really like or feel like it is a benefit to others. 

From Neville's book, The Power of Awareness -

I have a lavish, dependable income, consistent with integrity and mutual benefit.

It may take some time for a young person to get to this level, but you will get there with persistent effort.

It's also not necessary to worry about making significantly more than this either. It's great if it happens and you fully enjoy whatever you do to earn this money and fully enjoy the fruits of your effort. But the issue is that it typically takes a ton of time to earn a lot more than this. Time that you could use to enjoy other parts of life.

Happier Man Money
Pay Very Little Interest

The simplest way to pay very little interest is to never go into debt.

Simple, yes.  Easy, no.

What you might want to consider is putting in enough time and effort to find ways to avoid paying interest or to minimize the interest.

With the low interest rates we are currently in, there are usually opportunities to obtain zero or low interest credit cards for a set period of time.  The trick is to pay off these bills in the time allowed.

And the main strategy is to aggressively pay off all your debts to avoid this problem in the future.

Happier Man Money
Set Aside 10-20% of your Gross Income for the Future Happier Man

If you try to go overboard on setting aside money for the future you, you may wind up having a very mediocre present.  If you don't make at least the happier income level or close, saving a lot of money every month is not possible.

But it does make sense to set aside money now for the future and 10 to 20% seems to be about the right amount.

You would typically contribute to tax advantaged investments to do this to ensure you have some money in your older years.

Happier Man Money
Pay Your Bills Early - Skip Ahead Style

This is a very satisfying way to pay your bills.  At a minimum, as soon as you get a bill in the mail or your email inbox, you pay it.  You avoid all the agonizing over juggling the bills and trying to decide what to pay and when, accumulating late fees and interest and accumulating even more anxiety in your.

An even better way to approach your bills is to use the money you make this month to pay for bills a few months later....skipping ahead.

This is, in effect, part of your emergency fund.

Happier Man Money
Cash for a Wild Night on the Town and Credit to Get Out  of Trouble or Have Some Serious Fun

Me getting ready to go out on the town

I love to keep a few hundred dollars in my wallet all the time.  You never know what can happen, and having a significant amount of cash (and/or credit cards with a large amount of credit available) helps. 

Happier Man Money Wrap Up

Don't stick your head in the sand about money.  Get busy making a good amount, care for it wisely and enjoy it along the way.

› › Happier Man Money

The only way I could become the happier man I am today was by leaving my wife.  You might be in the same situation I was in.  I suggest you take a look at my book - Leave Your Wife & Become a Happier Man with the 3 Step System.

Click to go to learn more about the book

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