Money Can’t Buy You Happiness, BUT…
Money Can’t Buy You Happiness, BUT…
Money Can’t Buy You Happiness, BUT…
Can Money Buy You Happiness? This is a very common question that people ask themselves. The answers vary depending on who you ask:
- Money can’t buy me happiness, look at all the divorced rich people.
- Money can’t buy me happiness but neither can poverty.
- Money can’t buy me happiness but I would like to find out for myself.
- Money can’t buy me happiness but I would rather cry in a mansion.
So what’s our opinion? Well we think…
Money can’t buy you happiness, BUT happiness can bring you money.
Why do we say that?
Let’s take our case for example. When we got married, my net worth was about $135,000 and Mr99to1percent net worth was about $65,000 for a total of $200,000. Five years later, our networth has increased 8x to $1.625 million! During those 5 years of marriage, we have also been able to more than double our income from $160K to $400,000+/year.
The opposite is also true. Unhappiness can make you lose money. Let’s take my parents as an example. They both had 9-5 jobs and they also had about 3 side businesses.
Everything was going well, and we were living the upper-middle class lifestyle until they started having problems in their marriage and everything including the businesses started going downhill.
That’s when my dad explained to me that when marriage is going downhill, the businesses are bound to follow.
So how do you avoid this from happening? How do you keep your marriage and bank healthy and happy?
Teamwork
Teamwork is very important. If you are not a good team player, do yourself a favor and stay single. Like they say “There’s no I in Team”.
For us, every business or project we start, we do it together and leverage each other’s skills.
For example, when I was single, just entertaining 5 friends used to stress me out. Mr99to1percent never entertained anyone, it was too much of a hassle for him. But as a team, we have no problem entertaining 20-30 business and potential business associates.
Support and Encouragement
You must support and encourage each other 100%. You must have each other’s back. For example, there are periods of time where our jobs or side gigs might require one of us working long hours.
Instead of complaining, the least busy person will show support by taking on more house chores and/or just sitting next to the busy person and keeping them company while they work.
Also, anytime one of us comes up with an idea, we work, research, and decide together whether it’s economically feasible to pursue it. Two heads are better than one after all.
Trust
Trust is also very important. Trusting that your partner will always do what’s best for the nuclear family no matter what.
Trusting that none of us will ever intentionally jeopardize what we have built.
Trusting that if you are no longer here, your partner will take care of the family to the best of their abilities.
Loyalty
Before marring someone or entering a committed relationship, ask yourself this question. Can I be loyal to this person for the rest of my life? If it’s an easy Yes, please proceed. If not, please pause and re-evaluate.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T
A marriage without respect won’t last. A few years ago, we watched one couple go through this. The relationship was great but as soon as they got married the husband did a 180 and started disrespecting the wife and the marriage.
His recklessness ended the marriage and left them emotionally and financially bankrupt.
One question on my mind though, can we get back the monetary wedding gift we gave him 😊? It’s pretty clear he was never serious about the marriage. What’s the refund policy in these types of situations 😊?
Love
I left the best for last. LOVE. When I announced my engagement to one of my friends, she asked me if I had asked God to confirm if Mr99to1percent was the one for me.
My answer to her was that no I didn’t ask God to confirm. I was 100% sure, I didn’t really need confirmation. But, I did thank God for sending Mr99to1percent to me.
However, there are a few other questions I would recommend asking yourself before saying “I DO” :
- Do I see myself loving this person forever and ever?
- Will I still love them when they age and lose their good looks?
- Would I still love them if they lost everything they had?
- Would I still love them if they got into an accident or became very ill that I would need to take care of them for the rest of our lives.
If the answer is YES to ALL the questions, please proceed. If your answer is No or Maybe to ANY of the questions, please pause and re-evaluate.
There you have it guys. That’s how we have been able to increase our networth by 8x from $200,000 to $1.625 million and increase our HHI by 2x from $160K to $400K+ in only 5 years! That’s how you keep your marriage and bank healthy and happy.
What about you guys? How much has your networth and/or HHI increased since you got married? Any advice you want to share with our single readers? If you are single, what are some of the benefits and/or challenges have you experienced?
Thanks for reading. Please feel free to comment, share and subscribe! We love ya and wanna get to know ya!
Do you want an easier way to manage/track your finances/investments? The Personal Capital app can help. Do you want to start blogging? Bluehost can get you started. Make sure to also check out other resources that we recommend such as books that have helped us get where we are.
Do you want to learn more about us? If so, you can also read these other posts:
- About us
- How We Increased Our Annual Income From $0 to $160K to $400K+
- How we live on 15% of our income
- Joining the Million Dollar Club/Challenge and So Can You
- How To Pay Off A Mortgage In 5 Years
- Our Biggest Money Fight and 9 Lessons Learned
- Our 6 Financial Mistakes and 15 Lessons Learned
- How I Paid Off My $40,000 Student Loans Before Graduating
- The resumes that bring in $400,000+/year (Samples Provided)
Ms 99to1percent
Blogging about Personal Finance along with a little touch of humor. Immigrant who started from the bottom and now I’m here…to tell my story, inspire and learn from others. Paid off $40K in student loans before graduating. CPA. Saved a $100K emergency fund in my 20’s. Hopping to pay off $500K+ mortgage within 5 years at 39. Hopping to become financially independent at 45. Happily married. Mom of 1.
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26 responses
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[…] RockStarFinance – Interesting Nuggets from Around the Web – 12/15/2017 – Money Can’t Buy You Happiness, BUT… […]
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[…] discussions and/or fights, and have them early. Remember, money does not buy you happiness, but happiness can bring you money/financial freedom. Keep your marriage and bank healthy and happy […]
That’s great that you and your husband have formed such a solid team. My Dad was a psychologist who told me that most marriages end because of money. So it seems money really is at the root of our happiness and relationships!
True. If I remember correctly money is #1 (or 2?) cause of most divorces
Nice post. All very good points. However, sometimes things change, and the other big caveat is extended family. I’ve often heard from people over the years…”I married you, not your family”. In today’s blended family situations that becomes something people really need to look at closely. Money can buy happiness, but you’ve got to be ok with yourself, first.
Yes, extended family can cause problems. One the reasons my parents marriage didn’t work out was because of extended family.
We had extended family stresses as well. Honestly, it contributed a lot to us almost ending our marriage years ago. We had been raised to put of families first, and as a married couple we were still doing that. Instead of putting each other first. Once we changed – it was a really tough run with each other and our families. Everything got a lot better. Now our marriage is stronger and our relationships with our families is healthier and happier
Yes, nuclear family should come first. Glad to hear you guys worked it out <3
Nice post, Tina. Having the right partner can make a significant difference in one’s happiness, whether in marriage, business, or both (in addition to other areas).
Thanks for sharing.
Very true. It’s very important to choose the right partner.
Getting married was THE best decision I ever made. From a financial perspective, we’re much stronger with combined finances. We’ve been able to tackle debt much more quickly this way, while relying on each other. For example, hubster earns less money but has health insurance and vacay days. I don’t get many vacay days but I do bring in a lot of cash to tackle our debts. It’s a great way to tackle debt!
That’s so true Mrs PP. We are kind in the same situation. Hubby is able to become a contractor and use my employer provided heath insurance and other benefits. Win-Win
I really like this post, and very glad to hear you and your husband are a great team. Talking about money and marriage, this reminds me of one thing in China (where I grew up). I heard some girls’ philosophy of finding a husband is: “I would rather cry in a BMW, than smile sitting at the back of a bicycle”. Is money a miracle?
hahaha, that’s a good one :-). Though you can have it both (smiling in a BMW) if you choose the right partner.
Chris and I had money fights early in our marriage – I was a spender and he a saver. Once we got on the same page, after talking about our goals and values. It became a lot easier, to start working as a team instead of against each other!
I love happy endings. Teamwork all the way…
this whole FI thing is so much easier with 2 people. for me the big driver in turbo charging our finances had been not wanting to let mrs. smidlap down. when it was just me i would not have thought twice about flushing the opportunities. trust has been huge too. when i was working a lot of overnights and weekends for about 10 years i always said “go with your friends and have fun.” you can’t do that regularly without trust.
So true. Not wanting to let the other person down also comes into play. For example, I always think twice before doing something stupid that might disappoint hubby :-). We kinda bring out the best in each other.
The person you marry is the most important decision you will ever make. It pays to get it right, literally! Glad yours is working out so well.
SO true. The marriage can break or make you.
Money will never make anyone happy. Having time and the freedom to be with the ones you love will. So at a base level and without getting to philosophical yes you need some money to be happy. If you are homeless and have no food you will not be happy. Once you cross a certain standard of living and know that you will not go back to being poor if something bad happens to you it will give you happiness. Everything beyond that is about who you are as a person. Being a great person and respecting others will make you happy.
Very true. You need to be a happy person within to begin with. Otherwise your partner and/or money won’t be able to do make you happy.
Thank you for posting this. The second my fiancée and I got 100% on board with each other financially (1 year ago), our net worth has increased at a dramatic pace. It doesn’t come close to the dollar amount you and your husband have achieved (CONGRATULATIONS by the way!) but in terms of percentages, we have increased our Net Worth by 287.5% since January 2017.
None of this was possible though without the points you mentioned about being 100% together and supportive in your relationship. Those are the foundation tools to your financial house, and once they start to go then your financial house will eventually follow.
I look forward to reading more of your future posts!
Yes being `100% together and supportive is key. Kudos to you for increasing your networth by 287% in only 1 year! Very impressive.
Great post and lots of truth! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, glad you liked the post.