Aligning your financial plan with happiness

Jun 5

While investments, taxes, estate plans, risk management and cash flow are critical aspects of a financial plan, they won’t mean anything if they aren’t aligned with what matters most. In this episode I’ll share how one can align their financial plan with exactly that.

In this episode...

Where does Happiness come from [1:13]
Financial success and relationships [5:41]
Experiences or things, what will you remember most? [12:15]

A better life is a result of actions you have taken via better planning and when it comes to financial planning it’s imperative that the focus is on what is absolutely essential for happiness. The pursuit of happiness has been a recurring theme on this podcast and I have encouraged clients and listeners to pursue the things that ultimately lead to happiness. The Harvard Study of Adult Development started in 1938 has been investigating what makes people flourish. The study was launched as a result of the generosity of WT Grant and as a result is sometimes called the Grant study. and his goal for the study, using his words, was to “help people live more contentedly and peacefully and well in body and mind through a better knowledge of how to use and enjoy all the good things that the world has to offer them.”

It’s the longest in-depth longitudinal study on human life ever done, and it’s brought the researchers to a simple and profound conclusion: Good relationships lead to both health and happiness. it’s not career achievement, money, exercise, or even a healthy diet that brings happiness. Rather the most consistent finding they found through 85 years of study is that Positive relationships keep a person happier, healthier, and help a person live longer. Those who scored highest on measurements of "warm relationships" earned an average of $141,000 a year more at their peak salaries.

If relationships are the most important criteria for a long and happy life, than surely the most meaningful relationships have the most importance, for example, one’s marriage or one’s relationship with their children. Whether it’s right or wrong, good or bad, money has a significant impact on these relationships.

I talk with many clients and most say that they would rather spend more time with their family then have a bigger inheritance. For this reason, I encourage my clients to spend their money having family get togethers, because this is what will help them the most. But it’s more than just having good memories, people that have better relationships do better in many facets of life, including money.

The Harvard Study of Adult Development noted that the warmth of childhood relationship with mothers matters long into adulthood: Men who had "warm" childhood relationships with their mothers earned an average of $87,000 more a year than men whose mothers were uncaring.

Interestingly, while the poorer participants had shorter lifespans than the Harvard men (attributed to more dangerous work conditions, and poorer access to health care) when it came to happiness, the inner-city men were just as happy as the Harvard men, and their families were just as happy and in some cases, happier.

Tips Tricks and Strategies

I will answer the question on whether one should spend money on experiences or should they spend it on things, and provide a strategy to help you decide. Most of the research shows that experiences can provide more joy and actual things. For instance, while a vacation might only last a week, a new car can be driven for many years. However, a 'thing' might last longer physically, the enjoyment of it and the memories it creates can wane over time. On the other hand, experiences act more like appreciating assets, in that the initial experience might be short, but the value of it tends to increase over time. From my own experience that has been the case. Throughout the years, I’ve asked my kids what they remember most and invariably it’s the trips we took.

References

Good Genes are nice, but joy is better

What Makes People Happy? Decoupling the Experiential-Material Continuum

The Grant Study

Lessons from the world’s longest happiness study