Money and Happiness

I think everyone has heard the saying 'money can't buy happiness', and most of us have rolled out eyes at it.  I recently read an article about the way the ability to purchase things makes people happy.  I was surprised at my own reaction.

My fiance' and I have recently hit troubled financial waters, which is actually why I am starting this blog (but more on that later).  While we have never been what I would call "secure" in our finances, until recently we also never really had to worry about which bill we would pay with the funds we had available.  When we had some, albeit not much, disposable income, we often found ourselves lamenting not being able to buy the things we wanted or not being able to afford to go out as often as we would like.  When we did splurge and go out, it was still with a relatively reserved budget which sometimes made the date/experience feel like it was lacking. We were much better off than so many people in this world, and yet we weren't really Happy.

We've only fallen on hard times recently, but I have suddenly become much happier.  I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to stretch our budget.  I am much more appreciative of the things we have and the free entertainment we find.  We also are becoming even closer as we share our concerns and work together to overcome obstacles. Yes, our financial situation is stressful, yet I approach each day with a more energetic attitude.

It is very helpful that we have been slowly preparing for this situation for some time.  Two years ago my fiance' and I agreed that we should try to increase our number of hand tools and stockpile non-perishable foods in the pantry and meats in the freezer.  We also felt we should try to learn skills which would increase our self-sufficiency and sustainability.  And this all leads in to what this blog is really about.

When you don't have to do something the hard way, why would you?  For almost two years now I have been reading blogs, books, and articles about homesteading and survivalism. I have hundreds of bookmarks for tips, tricks, and how-to's that I read and thought to myself "oh how neat, I should do that!" and never actually attempted.  And now is the time when I will begin to utilize them.  The purpose of this blog is to share my experiences with trying all of the neat, cost-saving ideas I have found online, and a few we come up with ourselves, to stretch a budget and attain happiness within our standard of living.  Money can't buy happiness, but with some elbow grease and a thrifty mind-set, we might be able to create it.