We’ve all heard the old saying, “Money can’t buy you happiness.” – and to a degree, we all know this is true. Money can’t buy peace of mind, satisfaction, delight, or any of the feelings we normally associate with happiness.
But at the same time, in order to be happy, we need to feel secure, and financial security is an important part of this. With financial security, we can concentrate on what we want to do – what makes us happy – without being weighed down by worries about how we’re going to pay the bills.
That said, there is more to the relationship between money and happiness than this – else why would we stay late at work, chase promotions, or work longer hours? Simple: we need a minimum amount of money to feel secure, and earning money above that threshold makes it easier for us to be happy. But the more money we have, the less of an impact more money has on our overall happiness.
This is because the relationship between happiness and money isn’t really about quantity. It’s a question of quality – how you use the money you have is more important than how much you can use. Despite this, the people with the most money tend to be the people working the longest hours.
There’s another old saying – “Time is money”. We trade our time for money, but we can’t trade money for time. Working more means we have less time for our relationships, which are a huge factor in personal happiness. It can mean more competition, and more stress. Having money for the newest iPhone and a five-bedroom house won’t necessarily make you happier than people working fewer hours.
So, instead of working harder to get these things, it is important to find ways to use the time and money we have to improve our day-to-day happiness.
The biggest predictor of happiness is social relationships. If we spend all our time slaving away in the office, regardless of how financially secure it makes us, we’re not working on the things that will definitelymake us happy. Sometimes it’s better to spend your time, and work on maintaining healthy relationships, or exercising – health is wealth, after all.
So how can you buy happiness?
By using your money and your time on the things that matter more to you in the long run. Spend your time with your loved ones and working on the things you care the most about, rather than frittering it away in exchange for money – your time is worth more than that.
Do you want to spend more time doing what you love? Would you like to meet people with similar interests? If so, Ambera is the lifestyle for you.
Ambera is not an exclusive project for the wealthy, but a community concept where the power of sharing creates new opportunities for our homeowners, and a comfortable lifestyle attainable for more people.
