“Money can’t buy you happiness…but it can buy you a Waverunner,” said the comedian to start his routine.
I couldn’t say it better myself. Last night, my wife and I had a conversation on this very topic. Fortunately, we both agree that money cannot buy you happiness. I spent 2 years in Brazil on a mission for my Church and experienced poverty beyond comprehension for this day and age. What shocked me was the observation of the families who lived in it, often times were happier than the wealthy American families that I knew back home. To prove I was not in some spiritual fantasy land, I certainly experienced families in the depths of poverty that were absolutely miserable and unhappy.
The lesson I learned is that the two are disconnected. Happiness and pleasure have been used interchangeably in the English language and I think they are very different. Pleasure is short term, and I know first hand that money can buy you pleasure. What I have yet to see is the case where money bought long term happiness.
What money can do is enhance an already happy existence. Yesterday I talked to one family who went camping over spring break. Now, I happen to know camping was the recreation of choice because it is virtually free. By the way it was 45 degrees and raining! I know of another family that went to Mexico for the week and stayed in a beach front villa. All things being equal, I’ll take the Mexican trip to paradise please.
That leaves us all with some thinking and planning to do. First and most important, what is happiness? How do I achieve it today, tomorrow and twenty years from now? Secondly, what is my ideal life and how much does that cost? How will I fund it?
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