Happy Money Book Summary #weekendreads

Happy Money #Weekendreads

INTRODUCTION

The book “Happy Money” by Ken Honda is a Japanese art of healing your money wounds.

Could a self-defeating ‘Money Story’ in your head be keeping you in a rut financially?

How To Overcome Your Negative Beliefs?

How To Create The Wealth You Want?

And Finally How To Make Peace with Money?

This book establishes an enticing hook right away. Who wouldn’t want to make a lot of money while also finding inner peace? Some of the book’s purpose-driven ideas, I believe, coincide with Mr. Honda’s Happy Money notion. We can all discover methods to generate more money and prepare for retirement, but first, we must rectify our relationship with money.

According to Honda’s bio page on his website, he is Japan’s Mr. Money Mustache. He made a similar decision to leave his job before he was 30 in order to focus on his child. Keep in mind that our author is a Japanese national. For a country still grappling with the idea of work-life balance, retiring early to raise a family is an outlier.

Bits Of Wisdom Woven Into Happy Money

One of Honda’s first important discoveries is that those with more money aren’t always smarter or work harder than those with less. He then goes on to say that the rules of money are always changing. This is crucial advice.

Honda does not use his sites to advise you on how to invest your money. There’s no pressure to invest in index funds, real estate, or hide gold ingots beneath your bed. But the lesson is clear: to amass a fortune with happy money, one must have one’s head in the game at all times.

Tax laws are subject to change. Buyer patterns and trade dynamics influence investment strategy. Many people’s fortunes have been made or lost in the “bottom of the ninth inning” of their lives.

The author skillfully combines the concepts of FOMO (fear of missing out) and the scarcity myth. We are constantly envious of other people’s fancy cars, fantastic vacations, or back patio kitchen and pool. Thanks to social media bombarding us with just the best of everyone else’s lives, what used to be a source of wistful innocent jealousy has evolved into a source of despair for many.

When we combine our FOMO with a scarcity perspective, we lose sight of any concept of happy money. Those with an abundance mindset understand that money and wealth are not finite resources, as Honda and several other money gurus preach. Consider the following example: a new firm does not climb to popularity at the cost of another (otherwise the stock market would be stuck at 1900 levels).

Bits Of Wisdom Woven Into Happy Money

One of Honda’s first important discoveries is that those with more money aren’t always smarter or work harder than those with less. He then goes on to say that the rules of money are always changing. This is crucial advice.

Honda does not use his sites to advise you on how to invest your money. There’s no pressure to invest in index funds, real estate, or hide gold ingots beneath your bed. But the lesson is clear: to amass a fortune with happy money, one must have one’s head in the game at all times.

Tax laws are subject to change. Buyer patterns and trade dynamics influence investment strategy. Many people’s fortunes have been made or lost in the “bottom of the ninth inning” of their lives.

The author skillfully combines the concepts of FOMO (fear of missing out) and the scarcity myth. We are constantly envious of other people’s fancy cars, fantastic vacations, or back patio kitchen and pool. Thanks to social media bombarding us with just the best of everyone else’s lives, what used to be a source of wistful innocent jealousy has evolved into a source of despair for many.

When we combine our FOMO with a scarcity perspective, we lose sight of any concept of happy money. Those with an abundance mindset understand that money and wealth are not finite resources, as Honda and several other money gurus preach. Consider the following example: a new firm does not climb to popularity at the cost of another (otherwise the stock market would be stuck at 1900 levels).

Living In The Present With Happy Money

Honda’s collection of lessons and tales subsequently stated that we must let go of previous failures and future concerns. We can only liberate our brains from the anxiety that puts happiness out of reach by focusing on the present, on the here-and-now.

On page 41 of the book, it is clearly stated that happiness is not something that money can purchase. Honda claims that if we don’t let money rule our lives, we’ll be able to experience moments of happiness and contentment. But how can we put money where it belongs?

What can we do to make our money “happy”? Honda, once again, will not advise you to pay off your mortgage or go for your education loans like a honey badger. Of course, many of you are aware that I will. Getting rid of these burdensome bills frees up your thoughts for other activities. Living modestly and developing skills to make more money speed up the process while allowing you to focus on what’s most important — people.

The book confirms recent research indicating a yearly income of $75,000 is the ideal level of financial “happiness.” Anything you earn beyond this level will only provide you with a small increase in your life’s happiness. We hear about it all the time: the affluent among us compete for the greatest houses, the best plastic surgeons, the largest ships in the harbor, and so on, causing unneeded financial hardship.

What Is Your Money EQ?

It’s one thing to have a high financial IQ. Sure, you know how to make money in the stock market or you’ve built a sizable real estate business. Have you mastered money EQ, though? Remove the technicalities of how to create money and concentrate on one’s money habits.

Honda effectively categorizes the characters typical of various money EQs in this portion of the book:

We think of Mr. Money Mustache when we think of the obsessive saver (very thrifty individuals — generally offspring of divorce who see money from a scarcity perspective).

We Donald Trump when we think of the obsessive moneymaker (who spends every minute of their lives trying to make more money).

There are some fun combinations too:

• The hoarder + spender (saves a lot just to spend it all on splurges)
• The spender + moneymaking junkie (makes a lot and spends a lot).
• The hoarder + spender + money-making addict (a stress-inducing cocktail!) Walter White is a fictional character.
• Then there are some money EQ archetypes who aren’t affected by money at all!
• Those who are unconcerned about money (money is only a tool).
• Then there are worriers (those who are obsessed with the risks that money, or lack thereof, poses).

I like how Honda analyses our financial habits. There are several avenues where people get misled. The trick is to strike a balance. I was wondering as I read page after page if there was a single distilled key to making peace with money.

Money As Energy That Is Flowing All Around Us

That header is taken from Chapter 4: The Flow of Money, and it’s quite vaguely riddle-like, which adds a mystique. This is where we get to the core of the Happy Money notion.

Honda wants us to think about money in terms of physics. Consider how positive energy might be used to “charge” your money. With one easy strategy, you can increase your wealth and the rate at which you gain money. This is where we put aside our preconceived notions about money.

Here’s how to make peace with money in a nutshell. You must cultivate thankfulness and appreciation in your life in order to generate abundant joyful money. That is the secret to success. Gratitude and admiration are two really strong words.

Bring an optimistic outlook to life’s game. Show your gratitude to people. Show your thanks. These habits will attract money to you. Happy money (and happiness) will stay elusive if you chose to sit in a corner, fearful of the world, with a scarcity mindset, and dread others who don’t share your values.

Let’s face it: expressing thanks after a string of negative interactions isn’t easy. However, after you’ve taken the initial few steps, the rest of the process becomes much easy. Don’t worry if your gestures aren’t completely appreciated in return. You’ve fulfilled your obligation. Feel at ease in THAT.

CONCLUSION

Happy Money is more about your relationship with money than it is a self-help book about how to handle your money. It touched on some pretty interesting issues, such as how many of us have deeply established financial views and thoughts that we picked up from our early experiences with money.

According to Honda’s belief, your connection with life will reflect your relationship with money. I liked how he talked about being appreciative of money that goes out and money that comes in, as well as the importance of having a healthy and positive money mentality.

I’ll wrap off this review with the five steps Ken Honda recommends for making happy money.

• Change your mentality from one of scarcity to one of plenty.
• Forgive and mend your financial scars (let the past go!)
• Get in the flow of Happy Money by discovering your gifts.
• Have faith in life (build trust in one another, shed FEAR)
• Always say arigato (thank you).

I didn’t think this book was revolutionary, but I like the proactive attitude he offered while also being mindful of how our foundations and history with money are intertwined.