A richer life is based on core principles

Mary Fox Luquette
| MBA, CLU, ChFC

An old saying goes that money makes you happy. While many people believe that money brings satisfaction, it really isn’t. A rich life is based on an intangible quality that satisfies a person, not a monetary one.

Think of all the rich people who have had multiple marriages, went bankrupt despite making millions, or whose family life is quite dysfunctional. Money did not solve their problems, nor did it provide comfort and satisfaction.

There are some basic life lessons that should be accepted.

When they can be adopted, our lives can be filled with more meaningful and lasting memories. It won’t be based on fleeting and unsustainable fads.

Advertising must be viewed with a certain amount of skepticism.

Although advertising gives us information about products we are considering buying, the main goal is to get us to buy. It should present a product in the best possible light and arouse the need to purchase it. Advertising tries to change the way we think so that we believe that what we don’t have is better than what we have.

In many cases the new is no better than the old. It is important to keep this in mind when viewing any form of advertising. Advertising can be helpful when there is a specific need so that we can find the best product to meet that need. It can also let us know when we need to choose a product over a similar one.

However, if the intention is to purchase something out of our budget, then the product and its advertising are not in our best interest.

Failure can drive us to achieve better things.

Many people fear failure. A failed test grade or a failed deal can panic some. But failure can be a stepping stone.

Provided we examine carefully what and how failed, failure can reveal what we did wrong. We can investigate what didn’t work and work to do better next time. Failure is often the beginning of success.

Our expenses should be based on building memories, not acquiring things.

Impulse purchases ensure momentary satisfaction. Check out the flea market. How much did all of this stuff originally cost? Now it is no longer wanted.

When buying, we have to think long-term and sustainably. Current trends and fads are fading. It’s best to invest your time and money creating a quality of life – spending time with family and friends, working with a charity, or creating picture-worthy moments.

The biggest killer of our long-term goals is impulse buying.

We can see a bright financial future for ourselves based on what we want to achieve and we plan our resources to get there. We set a goal and work hard to achieve it. Then we suddenly see something that is absolutely essential. So instead of sticking to our plan, we buy the “must-have”. Now our financial goal is further away and it will take longer to be achieved.

Impulse buying satisfies the here and now, but ruins our future. If we can remember it, we can make a plan to avoid temptation.

Money doesn’t buy happiness.

We have heard that many times. However, we can still think that the answer to our problems is more money.

If so, why would lottery winners want to remain anonymous and destroy their winnings in a short amount of time? How many millionaires have problematic relationships or family discord? How many have discovered that money can be problematic rather than useful? Millionaires are not immune to the problems life poses.

We need to find our happiness in these activities that are permanent, memorable, and rewarding. Happiness is not based on things, but on the personal connections we make every day.

Mary Fox Luquette, MBA, CLU, ChFC is a senior lecturer in finance at the BI Moody III College of Business at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

source https://thedailytradingnews.com/a-richer-life-is-based-on-core-principles/