5 things money just can’t buy
and how you can use your resources right now to focus on these things!
👋 Welcome to the latest issue of How To Money by Kate Campbell – the newsletter that talks about all those money things you wish you learnt in high school.
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Dear How To Money Reader,
It’s been a whirlwind over the past two months since Buying Happiness: Learn to invest your time and money better* was released in all good bookstores.
And after hearing me talk about this idea of buying happiness recently, you might be thinking,
‘That’s all well and good Kate, but money can’t buy everything; it doesn’t buy me a good relationship with my sister, the years I lost to health issues or a feeling of satisfaction with my life.’
And I would agree with you.
There’s a lot that money can’t buy, and these things are essential to focus on during our money journey.
I’ve compiled a selection of things that money can’t directly buy so that we can give them more of our attention.
Because they do need our time and energy.
✅ Take action: Take some time over the week to reflect on how these, and any other similarly invaluable things, play out in your own life and consider how you might be able to address each one.
🏃🏽♀️ Health
Many factors can cause ill health, and although money may allow you to access the care required to treat or manage some medical conditions, many issues can’t simply be ‘paid off’.
What you can do with money, however, is use it to look after the body you have right now in the best way you can; after all, it’s the only one you get.
If you have the financial resources, consider how you might be able to use them to care proactively for your health, whether by engaging in preventative healthcare, not putting off expensive appointments, engaging in fitness activities you enjoy or buying higher quality foods.
⏳ Lost time
You can’t buy back lost time.
The way to manage this is to focus on the choices you make going forward, claiming the moments as they come and using your money to increase the time you have to do things you love – with the people who mean the most to you.
💙 Quality relationships
A study of undergraduate students in the US found that the happiest students were very social and had stronger relationships than the less happy students.
The researchers pointed out that the happy students didn’t ‘experience more objectively defined good events’ or have any significant commonalities aside from their strong social relationships.
You might be able to buy friendship for a short period of time if you’re shouting all the rounds and buying lavish gifts, but they aren’t the kind of friendships that’ll stand the test of time.
It takes time, effort and showing up on a regular basis to build quality relationships. The kind of connections that mean the people you care about will show up for your best and worst moments take time to develop, and they can’t be bought.
🔥 Purpose
I’d argue that living your days with purpose and intention isn’t something you can write a cheque for.
You have to figure out for yourself what your priorities are in life and how you want to spend your time. It’s not something that anyone else can solve for you.
It’s another aspect of your life that you figure out with time, experience and experimentation.
🧘🏽♂️ Feeling content
The feeling of having – and being – enough and being satisfied with your life and what you have is one of the most important things that money can’t buy. There are enough examples of unhappy celebrities and billionaire entrepreneurs alone to show that.
If you can’t find satisfaction with what you have now, it will still be hard to find it if you have more money, things and time.
Remember, it’s likely that you once wanted what you have now.
Finding a way to be grateful at each point along your journey is critical to your overall happiness.
Ask yourself what you can do right now that will move you one step closer to the person you want to be and the life you want to live.
You don’t need to put this off to a later date.
Start now.
📚 Want to keep exploring these ideas?
My very first book, Buying Happiness, has just come out. This is the perfect way to think more deeply about the role money and time plays in your life.
You can grab a copy of my book, Buying Happiness, on Booktopia* or Amazon today!
I want to hear from you! Tell me your thoughts on what money can’t buy in the comments below or via Instagram @katecampbellaus.
Cheers to our financial futures,
Kate Campbell
Thanks for reading
Thanks for reading today’s issue of How To Money. If you enjoyed what you read, I’d really appreciate it if you could forward it to a friend, family member, or colleague who you think might like it too.
✨ If you’d like to support my journey, the best ways are to:
Buy a copy of my book, Buying Happiness: Learn to invest your time and money better through Booktopia*, Amazon or order it through your local library.
Subscribe to my podcast (The Australian Finance Podcast) and leave a review.
* Please note: I will receive a small payment if you use my Booktopia affiliate link to place your order.