Never Happier

Never Happier Money cant buy happiness. Weve all heard this phraseâ€"and similar idioms, platitudes, and clichesâ€"before. Weve heard them ad nauseam. But the thing about platitudes is, well, theyre platitudes for a reason: theyre often true. While its true that money can purchase certain necessary comforts (clothes, food, housing), and these comforts are a key ingredient in ones recipe for a happy life, money alone will never make you happy. Not long term at least. Take it from me and my first-hand authoritative experienceâ€"my empirical evidence, as it were. At age 31, I earn less money than I did at nineteen, but Ive never been happier; Ive also never been a better person than I am right now. My happiness is derived from my experiences, from my relationships, from my healthâ€"not from my income. Minimalism has helped me realize that if I relinquish my need for expendable income, and if I can adjust my lifestyle to revolve around experiences instead of material possessions, then I need far less money to live a happy, fulfilled life. As long as I earn enough money to provide my basic needsâ€"rent, utilities, meals, insurance, savingsâ€"then I can find my happiness in other ways. Related reading: A Minimalists Thoughts on Money.