I don’t know – I never really thought about it.
Then don’t waste time fussing over money. If you don’t know where you want to go, any direction will do.
I just want to be happy.
According to Arthur Brooks, the three macronutrients of happiness are enjoyment, satisfaction, and purpose. You must enjoy your life, you must accept that satisfaction is temporary, and purpose is essential.
Happiness is not a goal – it’s a journey with some side trips better than others. Try rephrasing this to “I want to look forward to each and every day when I get out of bed.”
It’s your job to first figure out what that statement means to you, and then to think about how money fits into that understanding.
I want to retire at age 60, 65, 70, whatever.
The plan – spend less than you earn, try never to borrow money to purchase an asset (like a car) that declines in value, and never use a credit card to purchase anything unless you are certain you can pay it off in full the following month.
I want to get to a point where I never have to worry about money again.
Good luck with that.
Try this rephrasing: whenever I have an important decision to make that involves money, I will think through all the possible outcomes and have realistic plans as to how I would deal with each of them.
I want to get control of my financial life.
That will not happen until you get a good understanding of what money means to you, including your own emotional makeup and how aspects of your personality relate to your handling of money.
Consider what happens if you never get control over your financial life – you will always be reliant on decisons of people like bosses and money lenders who care a lot less about you than you do.
One of the best ways to get control over your financial life is to understand the difference between rich and wealthy. Rich is a monetary number which represents to what extent you can buy anything you want. Wealthy is an all encompassing feeling that you have control over your life which includes every aspect, including money. Once you understand the difference, it will explain why history is replete with men who died rich and who had miserable lives.
I want to stop feeling discouraged about money in general.
Try broadening your perspective, and don’t be deceived by appearances.
If you look around and conclude your friends or acquaintances or family members seem to be doing better than you are, don’t be misled. You likely have no idea what their real financial situation is like. Nor are you likely to have a good understanding of how they feel about it.