The powerful message from The Joy of Financial Security is that we can cultivate greater happiness and financial security by making some intentional changes in our lives.
My last blog entry was about contentment. Whether we are content or satisfied with our lives impacts our happiness. If we are not, we should make intentional changes. The parallel financial concept is to “Control the Controllables”.
When it comes to our finances, there are many things that we cannot control. In essence, we need to become content that we cannot control everything.
As individuals, we could not control (or prevent) the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in New York City and Washington, DC. We could not control the turmoil in the stock market between years 2000 and 2002, or the financial crisis in late 2008 and early 2009. We could not control the greed and corruption that has been far too prevalent in the investment banking industry for the past several years. The financial industry has a tarnished image that it has earned. Unfortunately, we cannot snap our fingers and suddenly make the financial world ethical.
We (as individuals) also do not have control over our nation’s economy. The factors that we cannot control include macroeconomic variables such as the inflation rate, the overall health of the economy, the amount of the federal deficit, or whether the Federal Reserve raises or lowers short-term interest rates. We also cannot control wars, natural disasters, or the suffering that many people endure. We need to admit that we, as individuals, simply have no control over these. We also cannot control the infighting among our politicians, although we can be vocal and vote to try to make improvements.
However, there are many factors that impact our finances that we can control, and they have a much greater impact on our long-term financial security than the factors we do not control. For example, we control how much of our income we save; whether we pay off our credit card balances each month; and whether we live within our means. We generally can decide whether we attend college or technical school to prepare for a career; the type of career we choose; whether we get married; whether we have children; whether we contribute to our retirement plan at work; whether we take good care of our health; when we retire; whether we manage our money wisely; whether we support charities; whether we do volunteer work; and whether we are good role models as we strive to teach our children how to handle money wisely.
Recognize that the factors you can control have an enormous impact on your financial security. Strive to save 15-20% of your income. Pay off your credit card bills each month. If you want to improve your health or your eating habits, make that a priority. (Being in good health will impact your health, your happiness, and your long-term finances). Carve out time during the next week for exercise. Plan your meals. Visit a farmer’s market to buy locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables. We have enormous control over our happiness and our financial security, and small intentional changes can lead to immense rewards.