Personal Finance Series: No 19 – How Much Does It Cost To Be You?
Most people lie about all sorts of things but none so much as money. They lie to others about how much they make, how much they spend, and what they really think about it. Most people ignore personal finance, financial planning, and money management, and most people are not happy. The pursuit of money is often mistaken for the pursuit of happiness, yet more and more, people are finding that the true route to happiness lies outside money, that in fact it lies in being authentic.
How to Be Money Happy: The Power of The Truth
It’s not their fault, that Society makes people lie about these things, because Society actually encourages lying and deception, and people actually save their biggest lies for their most intimate relationships, the ones with the potential to betray trust. Most often people think that the naked truth might cause more damage to how they are perceived than a lie, and they choose the lie.
Yet, when thinking about personal finance budgets, the numbers never lie. When a person takes the time to connect with their money, when they consider if they are in the money or out of the money and examine the personal finance statement and its balance – the naked truth is always there. The balance is either negative, positive or zero.
People who confront themselves with this truth, and start to relate to the meaning behind it start to embrace authenticity, and begin to become money happy. Personal finance online software brings with it a number of additional benefits built on goal setting motivation theory and financial planning calculators, and by using these tools for managing personal finance budgets online, the power of the truth can be shaped for a happier relationship with money.
How to Be Money Happy: The Behaviours of Trust
Being authentic rather than chasing money is a much more constructive strategy to becoming happy, and by being authentic, the author means behaving and communicating in way that is true to self, to “be who you are. “
And in personal finance budget creation, it means accepting that you might not have the money to aspire to have – so focus on becoming a person of trust and happiness will be easier to achieve.
There are a number of behaviours that typify a happy person of trust. Firstly they are truthful and will look you in the eye and tell it how they see it – while still having high regard for others. They also demonstrate respect and that they have listened carefully to what the other person is saying. Happy people who understand trust will right wrongs, be loyal in relationships, and deliver on the things they promise.
How to Be Money Happy regardless of Your Personal Finance Statement
Being authentic also adds to happiness because there is a self acceptance with their financial situation which allows them to understand that perfection is not linked to wealth and their identity is not connected to their belongings.
If your family budget worksheet, your personal finance spreadsheet or your personal finance online budget is showing a negative balance, then financial goal setting can set the objectives which can be tracked, while the forecast functions allow you to see the future before it happens thus allowing for a rapid adjustment in spending and lifestyle before it becomes a problem.
Alternatively, if the balance is a positive one, then different goals can be set – like investing for kids, investing to make money, or investing in the 401k. The answer to being money happy regardless of budget balance is to be authentic around and with money, and behave to build trust. By identifying worries or aspirations, set goals, forecasts and then monitor them.