Does MONEY Buy HAPPINESS???

Blog Layout

Does MONEY Buy HAPPINESS???

Jaime Schekaiban • May 27, 2020

How Much INCOME do you Need to be HAPPY?

I was watching some videos in YouTube and I got inspired to write this blog post. Many people complain about their current financial situation.

They say they are not happy about it. The sad thing is that they don’t really know what they want or what they need.

When you say things like “If I made more money, I would be happier”, you are being ambiguous.

More money can mean a million dollars more, or a thousand dollars more.

People talk about salaries or earned income. I understand 60% of people only have one single source of income, which is their salary, but the other 40% don’t.

That is why I am referring to Income in this post and not Salary. Income is any money coming into your hands, whether Salary is only from a job.

There are a few things to take in mind when thinking about money and happiness:

1. They relate to each other from $0 to $75,000 per year of Income

It is certain that money brings food to the table. It also dresses you up, pays for your housing needs and living expenses.

It allows you to go to the doctor if you need medical attention. It also allows you to have a coffee or a drink with a friend once in a while.

It will allow you to travel somewhere as a vacation and buy something nice either for you or someone you love on their birthday.

I understand that money covers your basic human needs. Someone who cannot cover its basic needs will never be happy.

If you find someone on the streets that hasn’t eaten the entire day, you will most likely imagine that person is not happy at all.

The same applies for sick people. I will ask you when you had that terrible fever or diarrhea before, if you were feeling happy.

It is estimated that with an INCOME (Not Salary) of around $75,000 per year before taxes, you can cover all these for yourself.

Once you cover all the basic needs and the social ones as well, you have achieved a certain level of happiness. Money is not going to give you any more happiness than what you already have.

If you make $100,000 instead of $75,000, you may be able to afford something else. It will not make you happier.

People making $1,000,000 a year will afford a lot of other things in their lives. They are all luxuries. Luxuries they did not need in the first place.

Instead of living in a $250,000 home, they will buy a $750,000 one. Instead of driving a Ford Focus or a Honda Accord, they will drive a Mercedes or BMW.

Instead of wearing a Fossil, they will wear a Rolex or a Cartier. See where I am going?

By exchanging things you already have for more expensive ones, it will not bring you happiness. So, what will?

2. Focus on Experiences

By exchanging material things for experiences, you open up your mind and become happier. This is a study conducted by many researchers around the globe.

Instead of buying that Rolex and spending $10,000 on a watch, go and travel the world.

Do not travel alone, find someone to spend your trip with. You can invite a friend, gf, family member, coworker, etc.

If you are traveling solo, you can use some of the webpages out there that will find you a companion online!

There are guided tours you can take that focus on single travelers and will help you bond with other people while you visit many interesting places! These are more expensive than traveling on your own but carry a lot of benefits.

3. Focus on People that Care for You

Let me tell you something about happiness. I wrote a lot in my first book which you can acquire online when it becomes available.

Money doesn’t buy happiness. It does until you reach $75,000 per year per single person.

Once you have reached that milestone, you need to focus your time and money to develop personal relationships.

Personal relationships will nurture your mind and body and make you happier in the end. Human beings were not made to be alone. Loneliness is the worst disease for any human being.

Some people tell me they like to be alone. I understand. I like to be alone as well. But just not 100% of the time!

Some people want to be alone because they are fed up of their current relationship. Maybe they cannot stand being close to this one person.

You need to treat your own situation accordingly. What I can tell you is that any human being with 0 friends and 0 family will never be completely happy.

Animals are never alone. Lions and Elephants and Zebras all move in herds. We come from an animal, and our species was exactly the same. If you believe in God, the first human beings were brought to this world in two. (a man and a woman)

Protect your friendships, cherish your family, have a healthy relationship with your boss and coworkers, (because you will spend a lot of time with them) and find love with a significant other.

Those 4 personal relationships will bring joy and happiness to your life, not money.

Money will be useful when you want to do activities with them, such as going to the movies, eating out, drinking, traveling, or having any kind of fun!

4. Helping Others

My business “The Foreigner in America” encourages people to be better with their money, sales development, and motivation.

I told everyone that I am donating consistently to the Houston Food Bank to help feed the poor and will donate 20% of all earnings of my company.

My business is not my only income, I also have income from my job in Sales, and from my Real Estate investments which I love.

When you donate your time or money to charity, it magnifies who you really are. It is not because of tax write-offs. If you are paying $100,000 in taxes, you donate 10% to charity, so you end up paying $90,000 in taxes.

The money is spent, either taxes or charity! There is no financial gain on doing so.

I encourage you to help others with your money. I don’t care whether it’s $100 or $100,000 what you can donate every year, do it with purpose!

It will make you happier to see you have a meaning in life. That is why people enroll in the Military. That is why people become nurses and go into non-profit organizations. That is why lawyers work Pro Bono. It is not for the money, it is for the JOY of helping others.

Closing Thoughts:

If you are not currently making $75,000 per year of more, focus on doing so. Focus 100% of your time and energy to make more income.

You are losing happiness because of your lack of money.

Once you reach that level, continue making money, never stop! But concentrate on achieving happiness.

Nurture your personal relationships, with family, friends, significant other, and coworkers. Bring people closer to you always, never push them away.

Help others as well and you will see the incredible satisfaction that brings to your life. I am experiencing it myself right now!

Don’t ever say “I need more money to be happy”. Say “I need to concentrate on building strong healthy relationships with my family, friends, significant other, and coworkers while increasing my income and reducing my expenses to be happy”

IT is longer to say, and much more difficult to accomplish, but it will bring you the happiness you are dying to get in your life!