From Here to Financial Happiness

Day Four Embrace Humility

We tend to be a self‐confident lot, which is a helpful trait. Those who are self‐confident tend to be happier, be more resilient, and enjoy greater career success. But self‐confidence isn't nearly so helpful when it comes to managing money. Want to avoid major financial mistakes? We should start by acknowledging five key failings.

First, we don't necessarily know what we want from our lives. We settle on a career and then realize it isn't for us. We buy a house and find it makes our lives harder, not happier. We lust after a luxury car and finally manage to buy it, only to discover it isn't nearly as life‐enhancing as we imagined. So what do we want from our lives? It takes a lot of thought, which is why we'll tackle the topic multiple times in the weeks ahead.

Second, we don't know what the future will bring. We imagine tomorrow will look like today. But our lives can be turned upside down in the blink of an eye. We might lose our job, fall seriously ill, meet our future spouse, suffer a death in the family, get divorced, stumble upon the home of our dreams, have a child. Most of us have an astonishing ability to cope with change, and we adapt with surprising speed. As you'll learn in the days that follow, that's both good and bad.

Third, we expect too much from money. Yes, a bigger paycheck and greater wealth can enhance our lives. But blindly pursuing wealth and indiscriminately spending money don't guarantee happiness, and they could backfire. ...