You can be happy with less money. It all depends on how you use it and what it does for you. Apply your money in the ways that will make you happiest. Be purposeful in how you spend your cash, and your life will be enriched, even on the tightest budget.
Choose Experiences Instead of Materials
Experiences can be one of the best investments of your money. Long after the money is spent, you will look back on the time with many fond memories. Money that is used toward experiences generally leaves people feeling that it was absolutely worth it. This is because we can more easily identify with our experiences than we can with material objects. So, for example, a trip to the beach with the family and the memories associated with it will wind up being much more satisfying than purchasing a new couch.
In fact research bears this out. When surveyed, people usually believe experiences to be more worth it than possessions. We tend to get used to new items rather quickly. So that new coffee maker that you were so thrilled to get at first soon becomes just another appliance in your home. In contrast, experiences never seem to get old even when talked about. In fact, each subsequent trip to Disney World is unique depending on when you go, who you are with and what your choices are when you are there.
Stay within Your Budget
Sure, everyone would love regular tips to Disney World, but few of us can afford that. That doesn’t mean that you can’t have regular fun experiences that work with your budget. For example, you might invest in a zoo membership or eat out every Friday night with friends. Repeating the experience is fine, but it should be something that you look forward to doing. Just changing up the venue, say a different park, beach or bar, may make the difference.
You can extend the value of your experiences when you talk about them, look at photos, post thoughts on Facebook about the time spent, use what you have learned etc.
Whatever experiences you choose, make sure that can afford them. You may have to downgrade your choices or take the time to save up for the ones that you really want to do. Being in debt is a negative experience and knowing that you are on an experience that you can’t afford will affect the positive feelings associated with your choice.
The same goes for choosing material objects as well.
Pay Attention
Being mindful of your choices and then being in the moment with them can afford you more fun for the same money. Take the example of eating on the run. Do you really enjoy the food? Probably not as much as if you were sitting down and giving complete attention to the meal. Automatically going through the motions of any experience or trying to multitask and do more than one thing at a time will affect your enjoyment. Take time to pay attention and savor the moment in order to get your money’s worth out of it. Don’t spend the money if you won’t have the time to enjoy the results.