We’ve been talking about money, money, money and how we must make more and lose less. Why we should dig deep to know our money personality. Use that to create a strategy for saving more and saving smart. Count our change and use them. How we must agonize over how to grow our nest egg well enough to fund kids’ education and retirement.
I don't know why but sometimes, being broke and happy sounds like a mystical, deserted, paradise beach where the wind and waves can sound as sweet as Pachelbel’s Canon in D.
Pinoy Penman, who confessed to an addiction to eBay, says he is broke but happy.
It used to be that you bought big-ticket items like refrigerators the time-honored way, first by window-shopping (a kind of visual foreplay), then by canvassing prices, and then by saving up for long, arduous months before marching into the appliance center and plunking down cold cash with a triumphant sigh. There was no such thing as FedEx; you dragged the behemoth home in the back of a rented jeep, and slaughtered a pig or some other four-legged animal to celebrate the purchase of a lifetime. Today it’s all too quick and too easy. With eBay and PayPal, the world is your mall, and you can let your fingertips do the malling as you hop from “Computer Accessories” to “Vintage Watches” and “Japanese Erotica” (I’m talking theoretically, boys). But am I complaining? Heck, no! I’m convinced they invented the Internet to mate me with my $1,799 MacBook Air, bought online on credit. Ten years of practice on eBay either taught me everything, or taught me nothing. I’m broke, but I’m happy. How do you explain that?How indeed? I think being broke but happy is an art. I find that those who profess to be broke but happy are most likely people who have automated regular savings, have little or no consumer debt, own properties somewhere, and extract happiness from every little thing they do or buy. They may not have oodles of cash, but they know they are not in want and they are pretty secure about their skills and their occupations. When push comes to shove, they have assets they can dispose. But they do enjoy the moment, live life to the fullest and never argue about money with their spouses. Being broke but happy is not possible for people who have been irresponsibly spending for years without guilt and are lazy to boot. It is different from being broke and just that, totally broke, with no means for escape. It sounds like a sweet spot to be in. But I know many of you would rather be rich and happy! Here’s hoping nobody slides to the other end of the spectrum –- being rich and miserable.
maybe today yes you're happy being broke, but i wonder if you can still say that at retirement age...with no nest egg to dip upon whatsoever.
Live life to the to the fullest until the end, not just for today.
Good day. This has nothing to do with the recent blog article. Just like to inquire about the seminar that I registered in your blog. The seminar will be on Aug 2 at 1:30 to 5:30 sponsored by Learning Curve and I think Citibank. I already made the payment and received the registration forms. Until now, I haven't fax my proof of payment (deposit slip) and registration forms because I can't get through the numbers listed. I still received emails when I did express my interest to attend. However, after making my payment of P 500.00, they never got back to me on how to fax my documents. Though the amount is smaill, it's my hard earned moneyl. Please help. Thanks in advance.
ARACELI Z. ABELLAR
ces_abellar@yahoo.com
09207794320
Ms. Abellar, I am sorry for the inconvenience. I will ask the organizer to call you today. Thank you and see you on August 2!
If you're single, no spouse, no kids, lives with your parents (meaning no bills, free food, free laundry) - by all means be happy and broke, you still have your back covered. But if you have a child, I doubt if you could still be happy and broke.
Broke but happy? Punchline 4 Brokeback Mountain? hahaha! :D
But seriously, broke and happy in this day and age? Fine if someone supports you at old age, 3-generations-under-1-roof setup. But being TOTALLY dependent on your adult children isn't acceptable anymore. You can be happy if you're broke but with the basic means to support yourself in old age without being a burden to others. But in this case I don't think you're exactly "broke" :)
the guy who post that comment....... smells and sounds like he's one of the subprime borrowers...... how do you plan to pay for your purchases?
money can not buy you happiness, but can you buy anything without it?
broke but happy??........ it's because somebody else is paying for your happiness!!!
maybe this guy needs to experience or ask around how great it is to be rich & happy =D
I totally get this. I guess in a way, I'm in my own "not rich but happy" place. I have a secure job that pays the bills, some savings on the side, single and pretty independent, no debts, and able to enjoy life without worrying too much. I guess it's really just a matter of how people look at things, and what they want in life. Happiness can be found anywhere, anytime. Some are just too busy trying to be happy, equating it with the amount of money they have... instead of just being, well... happy!
Broke and happy? Maybe possible but for how long? I don't even think he is broke. He bought a laptop on credit so I think he is still ok. Wait until he is really broke and see if he could still claim to be broke and happy. Then again, we may not be able to hear about it because his power had been cut off.
only a fool will believe in this " broke but happy thing " Happy you have bought the stuffs that you wanted, but are you sure you are?
I've probably gone thru this episode one or two times. I quit my job and lived on my 'rainy day fund' for a couple months and just have no desire to start committing to a new job again. I saw my money running out and for some odd reason, I had this perverse pleasure of stretching it a bit just to see how far will I go without job and money. It was liberating and I was a lot happier (I was not miserable in my job). Also I was free to focus on other aspects of my life. I probably grew up a little based on those episodes (and led me to live in different continents).
Having said that, the savings I kept during employment I never touched so yeah I was broke in the day to day expense sense. And yes it was short term (6 months at the most).
Happiness is relative, people, whether you are rich or broke.
To add...
Currently I have a 130,000 monthly paycheck. But I am not happy with what I am doing. I filed my resignation today.
I am now moving to an 80,000 one, but I know this is what I want.
Happy and Broke is possible, for lifes happiness is dependent upon oneself mind interpretation of life which can be achieved by being Enthusiastic for happiness can only be interpreted if you move your mind and body and think of what to achieve in life, and the word Enthusiasm is a greek word meaning in God. Amen.
Peter, earning 80K is hardly going broke. Haha. But I know what you mean... Broke or not, happiness is a state of mind. Then again, Maslow says you have to fulfill your physical needs first before moving up to self-actualization. I guess taking a huge pay cut is a lot different than thinking of your next meal.
I envy with you Peter..130 to 80 is a lot of money...hopefully someday I will have the guts to cut on my expenses to eventually transfer to a working environment that will make me happy....and it's true, level of satisfaction defines true happy...
@ Roland and Gracey
It was a veeeery TOUGH decision that me and my wife had to make.
We still have the anxiety that we may not make it. We are treating this as another challenge that we know we can handle, in time.
Well, the most common financial mistake that we commit is that our expenses go up with our salaries, right? Let's see if it goes the other way, too.
broke...but happy???
FOR NOW.
hahaha
The point is, people who can be "broke and happy" are not really broke!
@Peter, who knows maybe in half a year, you'll be back to the level of earning you had in your previous job. When people are happy in what they do, they earn more :)
Peter,
this government of Arroyo made me poor.
Yes, money won't make you happy.
In order to attract money, it is true that one must want it badly and be comfortable around it, but one must never be too ATTACHED to it.
For me it's how you view life, There are people who are rich beyond our dreams and yet are so unhappy with their lives.
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I grew up hearing about the saying 'being broke and happy' but I never felt that way instead being broke always made me feel miserable. I don't think its noble to be happy when you have bills to pay and things to buy which are necessities like food and toiletries. When we are in a state of financial freedom we become spendthrifts, we shop until we drop down on our knees if not we shop from home through the internet which at the press of a button transacts money within seconds and delivers the goods as well without us going through the hassles. So we are gifted with the convenient ways to spend money but we have to learn to become wiser in spending our hard earned money and take care of our assets as well. Money management and a wise lifestyle I feel is the key to happiness.
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sigh. There was no such thing as FedEx; you dragged the behemoth home in the back of a rented jeep, and slaughtered a pig or some other four-legged ani bag factory.
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I think being broke but happy is an art.
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Who in the world fed us the lie that "poor" and "content" are mutually exclusive conditions in which to be and experience? Because we sure know the opposites are totally (possibly) compatible: the states of being rich and miserable, simultaneously. Need I start listing all the examples?
Yes indeedy, the rich are different, but how happy can you be when you are suing your own parents, buying Ginault Watches,divorcing your uber-rich man (or sugar-mama as the case may be), squabbling with the mama of your own offspring, fighting against your own employer, banker--even hiring a new lawyer to sue your former lawyer.
Read about it in Mrs. Astor Regrets--the 18-count criminal indictment of her son for, among others, looting her estate and mistreating her in terms of physical care and comfort in her declining years.
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Yes at the end of the day, no matter how broke you are you must focus on the positive... in fact most people live a life in debt therefore it's not far from "broke" anyway. Huskies for Sale
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