Your Money_ The Missing Manual - J. D. Roth [11]
On The Money: Fun Things First
You lead a busy life. There never seems to be enough time to do the things you really want, like doing yoga, running, or having a weekly night out with your sweetie. With so much already on your plate, how can you fit it all in?
In Work Less, Live More (Nolo Press, 2007), Bob Clyatt argues that you can make time for fun stuff. The secret, he says, is prioritizing:
Imagine you have an empty jar, a collection of a few large rocks, and several handfuls of gravel. Your task is to put all the large and small rocks into the jar. One approach would be to pile all the gravel first, but doing so would leave room for only one or two of the large rocks; you wouldn't get everything to fit. Switch your approach and put the large rocks in first, and you'll find that the gravel will all fit nicely around the empty space. If a bit of gravel doesn't fit at the end, you've not lost much.
Let too many little things take priority, and there never seems to be time for the big things. Consider the Big Rocks to be really important things you want to accomplish in life, the things that define you. Get the big things in first, work on the right projects and priorities, and let the little stuff fit in around the edges. Let your Big Rocks be non-negotiable priorities in your weekly calendar—and learn to say "no" when other things begin to intrude. Then fit those other things in where you can.
So if running makes you happy, schedule your runs—and then fit the rest of your life around them. Don't ignore your obligations, but make the stuff you have to do fit around the stuff you want to do, not the other way around.
The bottom line is that if you can't be content, you'll never lead a rich life, no matter how much money you have. The key to money management—and happiness—is being satisfied. It's not how much you have that makes you happy or unhappy, but how much you want. If you want less, you'll be happy with less. This isn't a psychological game or New Age mumbo-jumbo, it's fact: The lower your expectations, the easier they are to fulfill—and the happier you'll be.
That's not to say you should lead an aimless life of poverty; quite the opposite, in fact. But most people confuse the means with the ends. They chase after money and Stuff in an attempt to feel fulfilled, but their choices are impulsive and random. Their "retail therapy" doesn't address the root cause of their unhappiness: They lack goals and an underlying value system to help guide their decisions.
In the next chapter, you'll learn how to create meaningful financial goals that are aligned with your passions. Then you'll be able to use these goals to make better decisions about money. These choices will, in turn, help you live a happier life.
Note
For an excellent look at how to be happy, pick up a copy of Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project (Harper, 2009).
Chapter 2. The Road to Wealth Is Paved with Goals
"If one moves confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
—Henry David Thoreau
Whether you want to get rich or just get out of debt, you need to set goals. Goals give you purpose and help you know what your money is for. Think of goals as blueprints and money as the building material you can use to build the life you want.
When you have a fixed purpose, financial decisions are easy. You know that each night out with friends delays your ultimate objective, whether that's buying a house, saving for a wedding, or starting your own business.
In this chapter, you'll learn how to translate your dreams and passions into smart financial goals to help direct your saving and investing. But chasing your dreams isn't easy; you'll make mistakes and bad things will happen. That's why this chapter also includes tips for coping with setbacks, and equips you with tools to help you build the financial future you've dreamed of.
The Road to Success
Studies have shown