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We have all heard it said that money will not make you happy.  It won’t… well, not exactly.  But, I have always been happier when I had some.

One night years ago when I was working sixteen hours a day trying to achieve financial success I was at a dinner with selected members from the corporation for which I worked.  We had nibbled pretty little food particles that actually were prettier than they were good.  It was one of those dinners that had a table setting that reminded me that as a child my family didn’t have as many forks in the drawer as I had before me.  You get the idea, I’m sure.

The speaker for the evening stood before us ready to deliver the keynote address.  We all stopped our conversations and turned our attention to the front of the room.  One of the first lines the speaker delivered was, “Money won’t make you happy.”  I have to admit I rolled my eyes.  I never had “money” so to speak and I was convinced that money would solve all my problems.

The opening line seemed to be a contradiction of everything our company preached.  At work, everything was about money.  If you have ever worked for a corporation that has a “bottom line” you are very well aware that money is the scorecard of success.  I think I shut down about three minutes into the speech. 

An older gentleman sitting next to me must have caught me napping.  He leaned over and said, “Money may not make you happy, but I’ve always been happier when I had it.”  I thought about his statement for the rest of the evening.

The truth is that money won’t make you happy.  However, it will facilitate many things that can make you happy.  Over the years I have met many people who shunned money and others who were so dedicated to its access that they become obsessed with it.  There has to be a happy medium.

Personally, I believe that happiness grows from within.  Expecting another person to make you happy or anticipating that money to deliver happiness will definitely set you up for failure, at least in the happiness category.  All that said, I must now say that money will facilitate many things in life.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with working for money if you have a purpose.

Let me give you two examples.  First, I have a friend who steadfastly seems to believe that money is evil.  He lives day by day, seemingly avoiding anything that would lead to financial success.  He is a fabulous artist and has the capability of earning a good income.  However, he believes that earning money from his art will compromise his values.  Perhaps he doesn’t trust himself.  At the same time, he often goes to Haiti and often laments the fact that the people of the country are so poor and he doesn’t have the financial means to help them. 

On the other hand, I saved quite a bit of money during the time I worked in corporate America.  My mother was diagnosed with cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.  Some of the family suggested that I put her in a nursing home, but I couldn’t.  I just could not bring myself to do that.  I quit my job and stayed home to take care of my mother for the next five years.  During that five years time period I spent over $500,000 taking her to doctors and getting her the best care available.  Medicare refused to cover many of her expenses as “experimental.”  Perhaps, they were.  However, when it is your mother you will do whatever it takes.  I spent my savings on keeping her comfortable and getting the medical care she needed.  I have never been happier in my life, not that she was sick, but that I was financially able to spend time with her and take care of her every need.

I discuss this not to say that I am always happy and my friend is always wanting to do something but can’t afford to.  I am only making the point that MONEY itself won’t do anything to make you happy.  What you can do with that money can do a lot to bring happiness to those you love and to yourself.

Money will not make you happy.  But, it is easier to facilitate happiness when you don’t have to worry about money.

I realize that some will take this the wrong way.  It is inevitable.  However, before you discount the value of being financially comfortable, why not think how much good you could do if you were financially sound?