How much money is enough?

Some people say we’re moving into the Solar Age (a time of enlightenment). Future historians will no doubt decide when it happened (2001, 2009, 2012…?), but no one can deny that our world is rapidly changing. The way we used to live, how we used to operate won’t necessarily work well in this new age. This includes how we view and manage money. Today I’d like to share some thoughts with you on this and, in particular, ask you to think about how much money is enough for you.

“Money doesn’t matter to me”

I have met spiritual people who claim money doesn’t matter. They say dealing with money is not spiritual, or it sullies them, or even that money is the root of all evil. I’ve heard business people also say money doesn’t matter. This time they try to convince me that their product, service or what they are doing is more important than their profit.

It is very hard to live without a regular stream of income – a fact that many people have become acutely aware of over the last 18 months. But for a moment, lets look what money truly is. It’s a source of energy used as an exchange mechanism for goods and services. It’s a tool. And just as a hammer cannot make you happy, sully you, nor bring or take away friends, neither can money. Money when used wisely can do a great deal of good. Money when used maliciously can do a great deal or harm. Money in itself is neither good nor bad. It’s how it’s used that matters.

As we step into this new age, we may find different ways of exchanging goods and services. Bartering, exchanging and swapping are notably on the increase, especially in Australia and Spain, but until things change more significantly, we need money to pay for things and so, money does matter.

Create an abundance of money?

In coaching, we use something known as the Law of Attraction. This states what you think about (consciously and subconsciously) becomes your reality. If you truly believe it’s possible for you to have, do or be something, with enough focused attention it will happen. Likewise, lots of thoughts about something you don’t want in your life, also increases the chances of bringing this unwanted thing into your life too!

The principles of the Law of Attraction, especially for increasing wealth, have been around for a long time. In 1910, Wallace D. Wattles wrote about this in his book: The Science of Getting Rich. Napoleon Hill’s Think And Grow Rich (1937) wrote about this law too. More recently, the film, The Secret, promoted it to a wider audience.

Quantum Physics has shown how thoughts alone can influence people and events even when there is no direct connection. An example of this is mass mediations held in New York where the intention is for more peace in the city. On each occasion this has been done, the homicide rate drops so significantly that other factors alone cannot account for it. One of the best ways of understanding the power of your thoughts and the basics of Quantum Physics (from a layman’s view point) is to see the DVD, What the Bleep do we know?

So, can thoughts alone change our financial circumstances? I believe this is true, yes. However, in my experience as a coach it is not quite as a simple as The Secret and many books on this subject make it sound. As well as positive, focused thoughts, you may need to work-on your limiting beliefs, family map stuff and deal self-worth issues (ideally with a coach) but yes, you can start to change your financial situation right now. You can have a life that is financially more abundant– even in the midst of a recession.

Financial Integrity

At the peak of Thatcherism, people were encouraged to ‘have-it-now’ and massive consumerism took place. In this new age, it’s simply not right to use up the resources of the Earth just because we can. So whilst I would wish for people to have an abundance instead of living with scarcity (which is incredibly disempowering), there needs to be a balance – of both personal and global integrity.

This balance between desiring and striving to build a good life for yourself and one that stays in integrity, is a not an easy path to tread for there is not a universal right or wrong. With your desires, the question to begin to ask yourself is why. Why do you want to have or do that? Is it something that you will cherish, use, value and be able to give back to others in someway from having or doing it? If the answer is yes, then you are probably in integrity. If the real reason for buying or doing something is ‘to prove’ you’re as good as the others, or just because you can, then you’re possibly out of integrity.

What would you really like to have and do?

In order to answer this question, first you have to decide what you want – really want. In my experience as a coach, this is something that very few people are really clear about. Let me share with you a quick story to demonstrate this:

A man arrives at the airport with his bag packed. Smiling, he walks up to the ticket desk and says: “I’d like to buy a ticket”. The young woman smiles back and says: “Certainly sir. Where would you like to go to?” The man replies: “Somewhere nice”. Perplexed the woman again asks, “Where to, sir?” He replies, “Oh, you know, somewhere really nice”

Of course you can see that until he decides where he wants to go, she can’t sell him a ticket! A huge number of people dream of a ‘nice’ life, but it doesn’t happen partially because they haven’t decided where they want to go to! In order for you to create a more abundant life, you need to become really specific about what that life looks like.

In my coaching, when I ask people this question and they say, “I’d like to live in a big house”. I then ask them to tell me where it is, how many bedrooms does it have, and why they would like to own this house.

Remember in this new age it’s about being in integrity. If having a 10-bedroom house, a flashy car and a yacht is your dream, there is nothing wrong with this if you plan to use and enjoy these luxuries to the full. However, to purchase a yacht, moor it in a harbour and rarely use it, is, in my view, out of integrity. Will a 10-bedroom house make you happier than a 4-bedroom house? Again ask yourself why. This is not judgmental – just from a place of curiosity. For some people a mansion is absolutely right for them. For others, especially if they feel they ‘should’ have a house like that and have just purchased it to ‘keep-up-with-the-Smythe-Jones’ then they are possibly out of integrity.

So how much money is enough for you?

There is only one thing that people really want: and that is to be happy. So what in terms of your lifestyle will make you happy?

This is not a question that most people can answer straightaway, but if you put pen to paper, it’s possible to work out how much it would cost and therefore how much you would need to make it happen. This should not be an exercise of frustration or of limitation. Focus instead of what will make you truly happy. Let me share with you another very quick story.

The man had worked very hard all of this life. Now, he was finally able to purchase the yacht of his dreams and had the time to enjoy it too. Life was good! One day he sailed his beautiful yacht to an idyllic, secluded cove and dropped anchor. He took out his fishing line, sat back feeling incredibly satisfied and grateful for the gifts he was enjoying. After a few hours, he decided to move his yacht closer to the shore, for he felt it had a better view. As he did so, he spied a man of a similar age to himself, sitting on the rocks with a fishing line in his hand. The man’s clothes looked clean but well worn, but there was a similar look of contentedness that the rich man had just experienced too, and this connected him to the man. Then it dawned on him. This man didn’t need the yacht to experience the contentedness. And it made him wonder. Were all the hours of hard work, all of the times he denied himself time to go fishing because he was so busy earning money, worth it? Who he wondered had had the richer life?

Decide then on a lifestyle that will make you happy. Include where you will live, how often you take holidays, and the type of car you will drive. Then include the more mundane but necessary things like food, clothes (OK, clothes are not necessarily mundane!!), haircuts, memberships, insurance, Christmas and birthday presents and everything you would like to have in your life. Now work out a total of how much this costs on a yearly basis. It takes time to do this, but with research on the Internet to see how much things cost, even use an online loan / mortgage rate calculator if you need to – you can work it all out.

Remember that you don’t have to be able to do everything, nor own everything now! Part of this is exercise is to stretch into who you want to become, what you want to do and have in your life. Knowing though how much is enough for you to be happy will stop you chasing things that are not truly important to you.

…and finally

I hope this Tip has inspired you to think about this some more and to put pen to paper to work it out! If you need some help finding your happy money place, I would be delighted to help you with some life coaching. Please email me jennie@reddandelion.co.uk or call me on 01305 821799 (or lo call rate: 0845 86 83 733) to find out more or to book a trial session with me.