Financial Contentment.  I’ve thought a lot about this concept over the last few years.  What does it really mean? And how does it relate to our lives? 

Contentment is defined as satisfaction or ease of mind.  So, we can say that Financial Contentment is being satisfied or having an ease of mind about our current financial status. 

There are many thoughts that have been shared in reference to the concept of contentment.

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship. – Buddha

There is no end of craving.  Hence contentment alone is the best way to happiness.  Therefore, acquire contentment. – Sivananda

Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything. – Aesop

Keeping in line with these ideas is where I think most people get stuck.  Don’t get me wrong, I love these quotes and I think that they inspire us by helping to maintain peace in our lives.  But I’m working towards a key point here, so stay with me.

There is another word that can be used as a synonym for content.  It is called complacent.  The definition of complacent is pleased or satisfied.  So, if they have the same definitions then they must have the same literal meanings right?  Wrong.   These two concepts are really not one in the same.  You can have contentment without being complacent.  When you mix the two, you get caught in what I’ll call non-action. 

Let me give a few of examples:

1. Jill is a college graduate and a receptionist for a local contracting company.  Her current annual salary is $25,000 per year.  She receives annual raises of about 2-3%, but the maximum she will ever earn in this position is roughly $30,000.  She has no debt and has managed to save over $50,000 within a 15 year time frame.  Should Jill think of or find ways to make better use of her educational resources to increase her income?
2. Patricia, an 18 year old, has not had the best start in life.  As a child, she was teased in school because she didn’t have the best of attire and the latest gear.  Her parents don’t have the best education which means that money is always a scarce commodity.  Should Patricia have the attitude that this is how it is and this is how it will always be?
3. The Carter’s, a nice suburban family with a house, two kids and a dog.  Both are educated people and have great incomes, but over the course of their lives have managed to build up a load of debt and are basically living paycheck to paycheck.  They sometimes wonder what life could be like if they didn’t have the debt, but that’s all – wonder.  Are they living to their maximum potential?

If you answered the questions above, you probably quickly said yes, no and no.  Now, step outside of your own life…tell your story.  Do you recognize any financial contentment AND financial complacency in your life?

Push the Envelope

What I think financial contentment really means is to be grateful for what we have and where we are in our journey, BUT always having dreams and goals of something better.  Setting goals.  Taking action.  There’s no harm in that.  Just don’t be caught in the next 5 years moaning and groaning about the same issues you have today.  Start now to create the financial changes you want to see.  Paying off debt. Giving to others.  Starting a business.  Building wealth.  Each day remember…one step in front of the other.  Eventually you will reach your destination. 

I have a few goals I’m currently working towards and one of the most important is to be able to give more of my money and my time helping others.    I can’t make this happen if I’m lost in contentment and complacency.  Neither can you.

It’s o.k. if you’ve set financial goals and have gotten off course, just realize that you don’t have to stay there!

How do you view this concept?  What has been your story?  Start or join the conversation in the comments.

Happy Monday!

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“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”  – David Brinkley

Disaster is not something that many want to think about.  Over the last few years, I have been focusing more on becoming “thought” conscious and creating a positive presence in my life.  I try my best to avoid negative energy. 

Can you picture negativity as a snowball?  I can.  Negative thoughts bring negative energy.  Negative energy bring on negative emotions.  And negative emotions most times lead to some form of unhappiness. 

If you were to see me on a daily basis, you would know that I wear a purple “A Complaint Free World” bracelet at all times.  The bracelet itself does not keep me from complaining, but it is a reminder for me to be more aware of my thoughts and what I speak of daily.

But avoiding negativity financially is more than just creating positive thoughts.  It requires a verb called ACTION.  You have to DO something if you want to be successful with your finances.  Passively waiting each day for life to change or improve without action will cause you to basically run in place and /or get behind.

There are three ways I believe can be critical in avoiding financial crises:

1.  Proper Planning.  We all know that in life we have great times and then we have some not so great times.  The key though is to prepare for the times that are the hardest.  Some examples would be job loss, illness,  salary reductions, etc. 

The first step is to sit down and analyze where you are now financially and where you want to be.  This can mean creating budgets, cutting up credit cards, creating an emergency fund, and/or starting a debt payoff method.  Well, someone may say that it’s so bad, I don’t even want to look at it.  My answer is, how can you heal if you haven’t assessed your wounds?

2.  Prioritizing.  Taking a look in the financial mirror is a must.  Not just one time, but daily until it becomes habit.  Just as we dress ourselves daily for our outward appearance, we must also dress ourselves daily financially.  Reviewing spending each day reminds us of our goals and keeps us on track to achievement.

3.  Paying Attention to the Right People.  There’s one thing about advice….everyone has some form of it.  When I was in the mortgage business,  I remember many of my loans not closing due to a family member of the client advising them to seek a better deal.  After shopping around, many times the client would realize that I did the best I could for their situation.  The advising family member had no idea that they were causing more harm than good. 

There are also times when people who are not financially savvy get advice from others who are also not financially savvy.  Talk about the blind leading the blind.  When financial questions arise, it is very good to get the opinion of others, BUT you must do your own research to get the best answer for your situation.  The internet is such a powerful and useful resource and we should use it to our advantage. 

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Our chance at disaster is 50/50, but our chance at success is also 50/50.  It depends on how you view your glass.  Half empty or half full?  AND whether you are willing to work at achieving financial success.  Do you aagree?  Let me know what you think in the comments.

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Recently, I found this video of a talk done back in 2001 at the TED Convention by John Wooden, a former coach for UCLA.  The topic of his speech is Defining True Success.  In this 17 minute video, Mr. Wooden gives wisdom that is timeless and can be applied to any facet of life including, finding success financially, in a career, as a spouse, as a parent, etc.

Since we talk about personal finance here, I’ll take a few quotes of his quotes and relate them to personal finance.  Check this out:

“My own definition of success:  peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable.  If you make the effort to the best of which you’re capable, try and improve the situation that exists for you – That’s Success. “

Succeeding at managing money is all about achievement on a personal level.  Not everyone is going to be able to attain multi-millionaire status.  Not everyone is going to have hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank.  But with effort each person can achieve their personal best financially without being compared to others.

“I came up with a pyramid eventually …And right at the top -  “faith and patience”. Whatever you are doing, you must be patient.  You have to have patience.  We sometimes think that change is progress, but forget that there is no progress without change.  We must also believe, truly believe.  Not just give it word service, but believe that things will work out as they should, PROVIDING we do what we should.  I think our tendency is to hope that things will turn out the way we want them to, but we don’t do the things necessary to make those things become reality.”

I can definitely relate to this quote.  As my husband and I were paying off what we felt was an enormous amount of debt, what kept us going was faith and patience.  Faith that one day we would achieve our goal of debt freedom.  And patience to do the daily monthly tasks required to continue on the lengthy journey and achieve the goal.   

“Reminds me of another set of three’s that my dad tried to get across to us.  Don’t whine.  Don’t complain.  Don’t make excuses.  Just get out there, and whatever you are doing, do it to the best of your ability.  Never mention winning.  My idea is that you can lose when you outscore somebody in a game.  And you can win when you are outscored.  Just be able to hold your head up after a game.  When the game is over and you see somebody that didn’t know the outcome, I hope they couldn’t tell by your actions whether you outscored an opponent or the opponent outscored you.”

Sometimes we think that the grass is always greener on the other side so we whine, we complain and we make excuses about our present situations.  But the reality is that we should be thankful in all things.  Keep a smile at all times.  I know it hard when times are tough, but in order to get to the mountaintop, you have to go through the valley.  It’s just the cycle of life.

“Then I ran across this simple verse that said, “At God’s footstool to confess, a pour soul knelt and bowed his head.  “I failed!” he cried.  The Master said, “Thou didst thou best, that is success.”

This is my most favorite quote from the entire video.  If you do your best, that is success.  What else can I say?

There’s a lot more to be gleamed from this video, but I decided to give my most favorite parts.  In the end, the talk is meant to inspire all of us to succeed on our own personal level.  Not just going with the flow of life, but to put in some effort and try to do our own personal best. 

If you haven’t already, take a moment to watch the video.  You will definitely be inspired.  Please share your views about the video in the comments.  

If you’ve never heard of TED, it’s a small non-profit devoted to ideas worth spreading:  Technology, Entertainment and Design.  The annual conferences in Long Beach and Oxford bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).  You may visit TED.com by clicking on this link.