Money or Happiness: For the Love of Money

Filed Under: Finance on August 6, 2012

This blog is brought to you by Trista with Empowered Practice.

How many decisions do you make that money is a consideration? Certainly, life altering decisions factor this in: job considerations, where you live or plan to relocate, where to continue your education, vacations. The list goes on and on. Money is such a crucial variable in so many parts of our lives, that we often let it overpower the more important question at hand. How does your happiness play into your decisions?

1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grieves.” This is not to say that money alone is the root of all evil, but that the ‘love’ of money is a root of all kinds of evil. How has this distinction played out in your life? It is easy to allow money to cloud your true values and intuition about matters; Taking a job for the dollar amount, rather than truly thinking through the entire scenario. Did that amount really make up for the amount of time away from your family, the toll it took on your health and sanity, the plummet in your job satisfaction or overall life happiness? It is likely your honest answer would be no.

The next time you are faced with a decision and you find yourself considering the monetary value in the situation at hand, ask yourself these reflective questions:

• Am I choosing this for the ‘love’ of money?
• If money were taken out of the equation totally because I didn’t need it, how would I decide?
• How might this affect my overall happiness, especially long-term?

As you reflect on these three questions, you will become more conscious of the root of your decision, contributing to your long-term happiness.

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