Top 5 destinations for world travel beginners

                This blog post is dedicated to those readers who have never left the United States. Where should you go? These are the trips I’d recommend the highest.

 

 

1)      Alberta, Canada – Canada is a perfect dip your toes in the water destination. I tell anyone who will listen that the benefits far outweigh the costs of visiting such lovely places as Banff and Jasper National Parks where you’ll find Lake Louise, Lake Moraine, and Peyto Lake (see pics below). English is the primary language, so no language issues to deal with. The flight is short and cheap into Calgary from most western cities. You can usually get away with not changing any money if you have a debit/credit card. You’ll obviously need a passport, but that’s the whole point of this post to persuade you to get one. For the most part, there is very little downside to making Canada your first international trip.

Caveat: Go only in the summer, otherwise you may run into snow and ice. June 15-September 15.

 

 

 

 

2)      Switzerland & Italy – Both of these countries got my top scores for European destinations. If you can only visit 2 countries in Europe, these are the two that offer the most things to do plus incredible scenery. You can usually get by with zero foreign language skills. These countries are very safe and friendly to tourism. Renting a car or using public transportation are both feasible. You won’t run out of things to do in cities like Rome, Venice, Pisa, or in Grindelwald, Interlaken, etc.

Caveat: Don’t go in the winter months, as the roads in the Alps close and the views aren’t quite as spectacular with less chance of sunny weather. Of course, if skiing is your primary purpose, then do the opposite

 

 

 

 

3)  French Polynesia – My next recommended destination is the French Polynesia, specifically Bora Bora and Moorea. These are two beautiful islands that are normally earmarked for honeymooners. This means that you’ll spend 90% of your time in or near the water, but it’s ok because the water colors are pretty awesome! There are also scenic viewpoints on both islands worth visiting. Even though French is the native language, you’ll get by just fine with English.

Caveat – Hotels are not cheap, especially over the water. You’ll want to stay a couple hundred feet inland to save big money. Winter airfare prices are much lower. In fact, package deals can be had on normally very expensive hotels.

 

 

4)   Peru – As representation of South America, it was a tossup between Peru and Brazil. Peru has Machu Picchu, which trumps Rio de Janeiro and Iguazu Falls. Peru is also much cheaper than Brazil. You won’t need to spend too much for hotels, transportation, etc. in Peru. Even outside the Machu Picchu area, the Sacred Valley is very scenic and worthwhile. 

      Caveat – Visiting Lake Titicaca was overrated in my view. I’d rather visit the Amazon jungle than spend time at Lake Titicaca. There are altitude issues in Peru for most of the touristy areas, so you’ll have to get adjusted. Language can be a real barrier if you don’t know Spanish.

 

5)    UAE – The surprising thing about Dubai and Abu Dhabi is that it’s cheap to fly there and it’s cheap to stay there. Airline tickets can easily be had for under $1K. Decent hotel rooms can be had for ~$50/night, because of the massive over supply of rooms. Most of the sites worth seeing are either in malls (indoor ski hill, aquariums, etc.) or just in the architecture of the city. The tallest building in the world is here. There are 7 star and underwater hotels. It's a super fascinating place. 

Caveat – You only need ~3 days to see Dubai and Abu Dhabi, although there are other things to do with more time like go play in the sand dunes. Since the flight is very long, you may want to consider a second destination to make it worth the trip. Only go in the winter months. The rest of the year is extremely hot and humid.

 

 

 

 

Honorable mentions:

 

     South Africa – Picking a place in Africa was challenging, but Cape Town was definitely my favorite city in my 4 trips to Africa. Egypt and Tanzania also have a lot to offer, but would not recommend Egypt without a group if you are new to travelling along with the current safety concerns. Tanzania is nice with Mount Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar beaches, and the Ngorongoro Crater. Cape Town has both beautiful scenery and things to do like Robben Island, Table Mountain, and the Cape of Good Hope. Hostels are pretty cheap.

Caveat – You have to be on high alert walking around the city. There’s a lot of crime. Don’t go out after dark.

 

      Beijing – There is a lot to see in Beijing (the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square). Flight costs can be reasonable. Visa requirements have been relaxed for US citizens if you only want to spend a couple days here en route to somewhere else. Hotels are cheap along with eating out.

Caveat – The language barrier can be huge. You will need to bring the Chinese version of the names of your hotels to provide to taxi drivers. If you can reserve an English speaking driver in advance, it will be a huge benefit. Costs for that service are surprisingly cheap. 

 

 

 

What we can learn from Chris Colabello

         One of the most interesting stories of April has been the rise of baseball player Chris Colabello. Most of my readers are probably wondering "Who is Chris Colabello?" His name isn't very well known even among many baseball die-hards, but his story is fascinating. 

        In 2011, Colabello was a 28 year old first baseman playing for the Worcester Tornadoes of an independent baseball league where he had played the last 7 seasons. Before that, he played baseball for a small college and then went undrafted by major league baseball. For most people, that would have been the end of a dream.  

         Very few college athletes make it to the professional level, so when the best opportunity for playing ends (aka they run out of eligibility), they move on to trying to find a career path using their education and degree. The alternative for a baseball player is to play for a team like the Tornadoes for a meager $750/month as a rookie and hope they get noticed by higher paying leagues i.e. the major leagues where the minimum salary is $500k/year.

         Colabello had a different mindset than most college graduates who run out of eligibility and don't get drafted. When asked why he continued to play for a living, his answer was that he always believed deep down that he was good enough to play in the major leagues if he continued to develop his skills. 

         Whether a person foregoes other career or life opportunities to chase a dream really depends on the answer to this one question: Do you believe deep down in your heart and soul that you can achieve it? If the answer is no, then you may as well move on now or concede that just reaching your potential or coming close is enough to warrant the effort.

          The not so fun part of dream chasing is knowing when to hang up your cleats.  Colabello had three stipulations for continuing to play baseball: 1) He was still having fun, 2) he was able to endure financially and physically, and 3) he continued to improve. He would have walked away if one of three stipulations wasn't met. Whether the chosen discipline is a stress relief or a stress inducer would be my threshold question. Vince Lombardi believed that you have to appreciate the grind to succeed: 

          Fortunately for Colabello, the Minnesota Twins didn't have enough first baseman in their minor league system and were desperate for help back in 2012 when they signed him. Normally, teams don't look for 28 year olds to develop in their minor league system, but the Twins were short handed on their AA team and besides he was the MVP of the independent league he was playing in.

         Colabello finally got his shot to develop under a major league team! He applied the same work ethic and attitude that got him to this point and made the decision by Twins management to promote him really easy when he tore up the minors. As with all real life stories, he faced adversity along the way. As a major league rookie, he struggled to adjust to the majors despite having gaudy minor league statistics.  

         Fast forward to spring training 2014 when it wasn't 100% certain that Colabello would make the team. In fact, he was offered the chance to double his salary to play for a South Korean team in a straight up trade for cash. Citing his dream to play in the major leagues, Colabello declined the doubled salary. Expectations were still really low for how his season would go based on last year's struggles, but injuries derailed the player that he was competing with for playing time at first base in the first couple days of the season.

 

         Given the chance to play every day since the beginning of the season, Colabello just broke Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett's team record for RBI in a single month! What's interesting about this story is not that the team record got broken, but it was accomplished by a player that no other team wanted just 3 years ago. It goes to show that if you believe in yourself and dream, continue to work to improve, and market yourself anything can happen against all odds.   

         Unrelated to Colabello's story, I should mention and give kudos to my cousin, Garrett Crain, who plays second base for TCU. He was recently named the co-Big 12 player of the week. I haven't seen him since he was about a foot shorter than he is now, but he has worked hard his whole life to develop the skills that are now paying dividends. Good luck to him going forward!

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all Small Stuff

       The title of my blog is actually the title of a book that I haven't read. However, that won't stop me from analyzing the quote and providing my commentary. The basic premise of the book purportedly is that we all get worked up over stuff that doesn't matter one iota in the grand scheme of things. We amplify and blow things out of proportion for no reason at all. I completely agree that we all do this on some level or another.

       As I've mentioned in a past post, there are a lot of things that can happen that are mostly out of our control no matter what life course we choose. It's impossible to avoid the impact of other people's decision making on our lives even if you were to live and work in mostly solitude. Unforeseeable events happen to everybody! 

      A lot of people even paint the walls with speculation all day long about what other people think of them with or without cause or provocation. Even if others don't think highly of us, does it really matter? They win if we let it affect us.   

       Almost everybody commutes to work and are subjected to other people's inept or careless driving. We get to choose how we react to our endangerment even though we know nothing of the bad driver's intent. It's possible that they are from another country or are merely learning to drive.

        An example in my life is traveling around by taxi as a primary means of transportation. The taxi driver might be dishonest, take you to the wrong location, and/or try to get you to buy his associate's souvenirs on the way to your destination. All of these things are frustrating, but they don't have to have an impact on my day or trip overall. How we react to what happens to us is completely in our control.

          One of the advantages to aging is gaining perspective. As a young teenager, everything in life that went wrong seemed unfair, personal, and life altering. Failing a test, losing a race, getting injured, getting critiqued for something you think you are good at, getting fired from that stellar entry level job at Little Caesar's pizza, or even breaking up seem like genuine life altering hardships. Despite the emotional roller coaster of the teenage years, the majority of what happened back then had zero impact on how my life would evolve 10-20 years later. As you gain maturity, you learn that life moves forward even when things don't go your way.

         The truth is most things that happen in life is small stuff even the seemingly big stuff. There is little reason to get worked up over very insignificant daily events. Most things are small potatoes in the grand scheme of things.

   

         Do things happen that can change your life trajectory and course? Absolutely! Not everything in life is small potatoes. We have to make major life decisions every so often that alters your course dramatically. It's also possible that you make a serious error in judgment and that wreaks havoc on your freedom. I listed a bunch of events that can become game changers for a lot of people last year in this post. To list a few big potato things: 1) being chronically unhealthy, 2) losing someone to death, 3) being in a bad marriage/getting divorced, 4) not being successful at something you try hard to succeed at, or 5) going to jail. There are probably quite a few more I could have listed.

         Many other things I didn't list are temporary valleys of life that are for our greater good. Some adversity may seem like a never ending valley of life, but we eventually pull through and appreciate life at a higher level for enduring the adversity. We won't be able to see our growth until we look at our hardships in the rear view mirror.

         In summary, most stuff in life that we get worked up over is small and not worth wasting emotional energy on. We should try and recognize the small stuff to react accordingly. In contrast, we may run into a few big things that will require emotional energy to endure successfully. Life will be much more enjoyable if we worry only about the big game changer events.

Why cooking is a good life analogy

         As with most teenagers, one of my first life lessons of being away from home at age 18 was learning how to cook. I would either learn to cook or starve! 

        Naturally, I was drawn first to cooking desserts since they were sweet empty calories. One of my first attempts at this was making doughnuts via canned biscuits fried in oil. Since I was a novice at cooking and 100% brilliant, I tried to expedite the process and put the stove on maximum heat to make the doughnuts fry faster. Using this method, the vegetable oil came to a boil hard and fast. Next, I started throwing in the biscuit dough one by one. As the oil heat escalated, the entire house got really smoky, the oil started to splatter everywhere, and the smoke alarm went off.

         At the exact moment the smoke alarm started to sound, a girl from the apartment complex stopped by to visit. About 10 seconds after she stopped by after witnessing the chaos, she excused herself and took a U-turn. It was a smart move on her part, because the final outcome of waiting an hour for the smoke to clear was the doughnuts were very well done on the outside, but not cooked at all on the inside. In theory, the doughnuts should have looked like this:

      What I got instead was not edible resemblances to that. However, I learned 3 principles to becoming a better cook with many more life applications: 

 

1) Following directions is a good skill to learn - This principle applies to much more than cooking. If you want to get good grades and do well in your career, learn what is expected of you (I can't emphasize this enough) and then meet or exceed those expectations. It took me a long time to learn that just spending the time to understand what your professor/boss wants will allow you to do A+ work. When I spend a lot time and energy doing things that the professor or boss doesn't value, it leads to bad results and evaluations.

         I must admit that I could have used the above book in my teens and twenties. It's better to learn from those who have gone before than trying to reinvent a wheel that will probably end up crooked. The difference between success and failure often hinges on one small detail in the instructions. Skip a step and you might not like the outcome.

 

2) Be willing to go through trial and error - We aren't usually good at what we try the first time. This was especially true with me and cooking. Even though I consider myself only an adequate cook today, my level of expertise has increased a hundred fold from when I started. I could even make those doughnuts todays without incident (most likely).

         Even the brightest people in the world failed before succeeded. Madame Marie Curie, who won two Nobel prizes, tried to isolate radium from a low-grade uranium to fight against tumors. She only succeeded after hundreds of failed experiments. Thomas Edison was also well known for many failed experiments, but is better known for his few incredible successes.

          Even if we aren't as brilliant as Edison or Curie, it doesn't mean we can't try and fail. We don't need to be a superstar from day one. Most superstars in most fields have a past full of failures that they leveraged into future success. I like the mindset of Edison on this one:

 

3) Be willing to gain experience in what you aren't good at - I was a terrible cook when I had no experience just like everybody else. The people who become great cooks gain experience and learn until they have a lot of dishes mastered.  

        Although Simon Cowell isn't a particularly good role model, he is a good example of what ambition will do for you. He worked in the mail room of a company he wanted to work for and then worked his way up the corporate ladder. Later, after he tried to start his own company and took on too much debt, he had to move back home with his parents at age 30. Of course, he stuck with his path and eventually ended up at the very top of his industry.

        Even Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young wasn't a great passer coming out of high school. Here's an interesting quote by him: "I don't think we ever practiced throwing the ball in high school. We passed only under duress. I was embarrassed to throw in public..." He was the 8th string quarterback his first season at BYU and was asked to move to safety by the head coach. Fortunately, he didn't see the lack of passing experience as an 18 year old as the final outcome of his career.

 

         Although I didn't realize it at the time I was botching my doughnuts, I was actually learning by trial and error that instructions matter. Through a lot of subsequent life experience, those lessons would become invaluable to other aspects of my life. That's the reward of trying.



  

4 Tips to Moving Forward in 2014

         The greatest part about starting a new year is that you can psychologically start over on things you failed to make a priority in the previous year. Committing to be a better person tomorrow, next week, and next year isn't enough. You will need to assess where you stand currently, where you are going in life, and what are the areas you would like to exert effort to improve in. Here are my 4 tips to moving forward in 2014.

         

Tip 1: Leave the past behind – There is no doubt that you made mistakes in 2013 and in the years before that. We all make mistakes both big and small. We can sit around and paint the walls with speculation all day long to try and change history, but it won’t do us any good! The constructive way to deal with the past is to understand the lesson you learned to avoid repeating it and then move on. It’s impossible to succeed if you can’t psychologically forgive yourself of your past mistakes and move forward in life.

           You can’t relive a golden opportunity like buying Apple stock 15 years ago when somebody suggested it or getting a redo in the high school state football championship that would have assured your future in the NFL. You simply can’t redo your life trajectory from any point in the past without a time machine. Here’s looking at you Uncle Rico.

         You can only change your life trajectory from today forward. If there are obstacles that are hindering you from progressing, then work on those first (ex: finances, injuries, health, psychological issues, etc.) Good things come to those who persevere. You might not reach your goals in the perfect time frame, but you will eventually.

         Even if it appears that some of your peers have more to offer or have more innate gifts than you, you need to move forward in life with the hand that you’ve been dealt. You have a choice about whether to waste away years of your life complaining and making excuses about your childhood, your genetics, your family, your life circumstances or you can accept the gifts and talents that you have received and do your best to make progress in those priorities most important to you.

Tip 2: Defriend the monster inside of your head – You may be thinking of a certain #1 hit song who befriended a monster under her bed as my second tip. I disagree with her advice to get along with the voices inside of your head specifically the one belonging to the monster. Sure it’s possible that the monster looks like this:

         Most likely, the monster isn't as friendly as the picture indicates. There truly is a voice inside each of our heads that spews negativity sometimes. The great thing about being human is the monster has zero power over us, because we hold the power to veto anything he suggests. The monster doesn't force us to quit trying or to make bad decisions to hinder our progression. Those things were merely his suggestion.  

Tip 3: Plan ahead – To get somewhere in life, we need to lay the ground work to get there first. Stephen Covey says in his book 7 Habits  of Highly Effective People to  "Begin with the end in mind." People don't usually end up accomplishing big things by accident. Where do you want to be next year? in 5 years? 10 years? 30 years? Successful people spend countless hours creating the life that they envisioned for themselves brick by brick. As we work towards retirement or other long-term goals, remember that there are usually hundreds of little decisions that add up to favorable or unfavorable long-term life circumstances.

 

Tip 4: Go all in! – As legend has it, in 1519 Cortez set sail from Spain to Mexico with 11 ships and 600 men with the mission to conquer the Aztecs and claim all the treasure in the land. As soon as he arrived, he wanted to make sure that his men were fully committed to achieving his objective and ordered that the 11 ships be burned. Cortez changed the paradigm dramatically because he didn't leave room to fail! If his crew was fearful or having doubts, they didn’t have the option of retreating back to their ships. It was either conquer the Aztecs or die trying! This all or nothing approach obviously worked.

 

 

 

 

         The key principle that we can learn from this story, whether it’s true or not, is that a half-hearted approach to accomplishing any endeavor is much less likely to succeed than if you are 100% committed to being the best that you can. You have to decide you want it and then go for it with gusto! This may mean quitting the job you hate, going back to school, or simply making your goal a top priority and not being afraid to take risks. Most importantly, don't just "coast along" hoping that someday your minimal effort will pay off. Talent isn't enough to accomplish anything noteworthy.

 

Conclusion: 2014 is a second chance for each of us to assess where we are in life and where our trajectory is likely headed. Take the new year to strategically move forward with your life by learning from the past, living in the present, and preparing for the future. There are good things to come in the future for those who are not short-sighted in their approach to life decisions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why Timing is so Pivotal

           If you are like me, as you get ready for 2014 you'll be thinking about the timing of making moves to improve your life. After all, life is about timing and timing can be pivotal  to whether you succeed or fail. Some things like self improvement habits can be started on any day of the year, whereas the timing of career moves and investing should be more strategic. This blog will explore some of the pivotal scenarios and what we can do to increase our odds at good timing.

 

My personal list

 Here's a list of things in my life that I've relied on good and bad timing:

• Good: buying and selling my first house
• Bad: matriculating in law school in a year when the application pool doubled twice in 2 years
• Good: starting college when tuition rates had not yet skyrocketed
• Bad: starting graduate school after tuition rates had skyrocketed 
• Good: finding my first post graduate school job in an industry on the rise
• Bad: finding my first job out of college in an industry that went into a recession a few months later
• Good: taking a trip using frequent flier miles on a special promotion   
• Bad: tearing my calf muscle playing flag football when I was getting close to a peak fitness level     

          I could have listed dozens of more examples. Each of us will have to make decisions about when to take advantage of opportunities when the timing takes a turn for the worse. We will also have unplanned setbacks at the exact wrong time that may look like bad luck, but it may become a blessing in disguise later on. I may do a post on this in 2014.

 

The timing of your career path

        Being strategic with your career moves is absolutely critical in today's job market, since the average worker stays at each of his or her jobs for only 4.4 years. Over the duration of a 35 year career, you might switch jobs 8 times. Case in point, I left my first job out of law school after less than 15 months mainly because a competing company made me a substantially better offer. Of course, the offer came only after a recruiter contacted me and I decided to interview for the position. I have been with that company now for over 5 years with no regrets.

         There are a lot of factors in deciding when to make a career move. Some of the moves might be forced while others might be due to being burned out with or hating your current job or maybe you were just offered a better one. The latter scenario is almost always predicated by effort to find a new opportunity.

        The industry you are working in often has either an outlook of expansion or contraction. Two middle-aged salesmen (Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn) in the movie The Internship found themselves looking for a new career when the watch industry was dying and their company suddenly folded. Much like these two salesmen, you'll probably land in an industry that is cyclical at some point in your career. If you find yourself in one of those cycles, you may be on the move more often than you'd prefer. Welcome to the 21st century job market.

       Opportunity recognition and having a wide array of skills will be helpful in making smooth transitions from one job to the next. Becoming qualified for jobs that are on the rise and being mindful of the warning signs of when your industry is going to collapse could have helped Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in the aforementioned movie. Doing your homework on the new company and industry you are considering will help you avoid colossal mistakes. 

          Conan O' Brien gave this sage advice a few years back:

I abandoned all preconceived notions of my career path and stature…Your path at 22 will not necessarily be your path at 32 or 42. One’s dream is constantly evolving, rising and falling, changing course. 

Life lesson: Be very cognizant of the future of your industry and alternate industries that have a brighter outlook you can qualify for. Your skill development over time may lead you to a field that is not even created today, so keep a flexible outlook and maintain a broad skill set.

The timing of buying your first house 

         Most people I know bought their first house just weeks or months after they qualify for a loan and had enough money for the down payment. This random approach can either be a future financial windfall or a major liability. Certain roller coaster markets like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and California the market can fluctuate dramatically depending on the year. Thus, there's a big difference between buying in a seller's market (2004-2009) when you'll eventually be underwater (i.e. owe more on your house than it's worth) or buying in a recession (2010-2012) when the property will increase in value sometimes dramatically in later years. 

          While it's impossible to know exactly when to buy or sell, there are definite warning signs that the market is priced too high or is in a recession. If there are multiple bidders for the house or the buyers are expected to pay closing costs or the price is at a historical high or the prices are higher than average income levels can afford, the house might be over priced. On the other hand, if prices are at historical lows, the seller is picking up all the closing costs, you are the only offer, those could be signs that it's a good time to buy.     

Life lesson: Being in a position to take advantage of an opportunity is a good thing, but you should take your time and wait for favorable market conditions to pounce. It's not easy to be patient, but it could prove to be a financial windfall to make that sacrifice. 

The timing of investments/retirement

           The timing of when to start investing in retirement plans will impact how much you can rely on compound interest to increase your nest egg. With an average 7.2% rate of return, your money doubles every 10 years. The longer you wait to start saving, the harder you'll have to work. Your best case scenario is that your disciplined approach to save money early will make you the majority of money needed to retire early. This is an absolutely no-brainer approach to the timing of saving for retirement.  

           Similar to real estate, being successful in making money in the stock market relies on good timing. Buying low and selling high makes each of us take educated guesses on the peaks and valleys of the market, which usually leads to a limited return. Of course, the best strategy is to hold stocks in good companies for decades. The novice investors who try to time the highs and lows don't usually do too well. However, if there is a crash, it's better to sell on the first day rather than wait it out. Some of the larger shareholders may have trouble moving their shares in a timely way. Crashes often lead to a 40% drop in your portfolio. However, after a crash is often a good time to buy.   

Life lesson: Start early in investing for retirement and recognize the warning signs of buying and selling your investments. Buying and selling stocks can be akin to gambling if you don't know what you're doing, so be very careful. 

The timing of dating

         The quality and quantity of your dating opportunities are greatly impacted by how old you are, how many chances you take, and whether the persons you are interested in are looking. You can't control who and when others are putting themselves out there to find a person to date. Some people are in dead end relationships, thereby losing opportunities to meet someone with long-term potential. What you can control is how many chances you take to find someone new. Increasing your odds by taking more chances to find motivated people to date can help you find the type of person you are looking for. Procrastinating making the push or making a half-hearted push to date makes it less likely that the stars will align aka the timing for the person you are interested in lines up with your timetable. 

          The best time to date for most people is when they are young (18-35). In fact, it's one of life's goals that procrastinating might have dire consequences. Your quality and quantity of prospects generally decline over time, so it's a risky proposition to sit at home during your prime dating years. However, you don't want to be so in love with the concept of marriage that you overlook major deficiencies in the person you are interested in. I knew someone who decided that she was going to get married in six months. She didn't know to who, but that was her goal! I don't know how that turned out for her, but I do know that it is not typically in our best interest to rush into marriage. 

Life lesson: Date while you are young and take your shots until you find someone you're excited to be with. Take some risks and go all in. You'll miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

Conclusion

          The adage that timing is everything is mostly true (being in a position and recognizing the opportunity are two other crucial elements). You will either miss opportunities or take advantage of opportunities based on timing. Although timing isn't usually 100% in our control, there are often indicators that increase our odds at success. Taking a big picture approach rather than a day by day approach in 2014 may give you the premonition to pounce during a good timing phase or to walk away before a bad timing event. Be patient and well positioned and good things will happen. 

Does money buy happiness?

        I recently read the book, David and Goliath, by Malcolm Gladwell. One of the author's contentions was that money buys happiness in an inverted U-curve sort of way. The gist of the U-curve is that having the right amount of money can make a big difference in your level of happiness. If you have too little money, you might obsess over how to get more of it to meet your basic needs. On the other hand, having too much money can create a separate set of issues that decreases your happiness. See the graphic below to illustrate:

   

        Gladwell didn't come up with this concept out of thin air. Researchers at Princeton examined Gallup poll data from nearly 500,000 US households and found that higher family incomes were related to better moods on a day to day basis. However, the positive effects of money had no effect on people’s happiness and moods after a level of $75,000 was attained.

         Basically, the difference in happiness between earning $75,000 and $100,000 is negligible. The person earning a little bit more maybe drives a nicer car, eats out more, and has access to a few more luxuries. However, none of those things necessarily makes a person happier.

 

Why poverty is not ideal

       It's probable that most Americans would agree that being below the poverty line is not ideal to happiness. When I was in college, there were days and weeks that I was flat broke. It was unrelenting, draining and stressful particularly when I felt deprived of material comforts.  

       On the other hand, the happiest poor people don't obsess over what they don't have. They are content with what they do have and value relationship building as a higher indicator of happiness than building wealth. This state of mind is something we should all strive for.

      The lyrics of the song "Through Heaven's Eyes" comes to mind when considering the value of material possessions. When all you have is nothing, there's a lot to go around. Life is much simpler if you lose it all. We can't take our "stuff" with us when we inevitably pass on. Here's a great version of that song:

 

The 3 basics of personal finance

        There's a reason why most women want security in marriage. Life is less stressful when you don't have to worry about money on a day to day basis. If you are financially secure, you can put a lot more time, energy and thought into other priorities that bring contentment.

       To this end, there are 3 basics of personal finance that are important to a person's peace of mind: a savings account, a retirement account, and a positive cash flow. These three basics take care of today, tomorrow, dealing with the unpredictable events that require money to resolve, and the far future. You won't lose sleep if you have no debt or manageable debt and have all three basics set up and in progression.

        Heber J. Grant had this to say on the topic:

If there is any one thing that will bring peace and contentment into the human heart, and into the family, it is to live within our means. And if there is any one thing that is grinding and discouraging and disheartening, it is to have debts and obligations that one cannot meet.

Conclusion

       Money is a vital part of life and potentially a significant factor in how happy we are. However, there is a happy medium that we should try to reach in not emphasizing money so much that we lose out on irreplaceable time with our families or placing too much importance on "stuff", which we think will become a replacement for true happiness. There will always be a crossroads in your career choices where you have to determine your emphasis on money or relationships.