When I was a kid I grew up in a home where all my needs were met. We weren’t rich but definitely not poor. I wouldn’t say I never felt like I went without. I had more than I needed and we had nice clothes and even went on a few trips every year.  I lived a very happy childhood. My parents both worked full-time my father was a 9th grade English teacher in Osseo he also coached wrestling and tennis, and my mother was a mental health nurse at Fairview Riverside in Minneapolis and even cleaned homes on the side.  My parents worked really hard to provide us financial security and a life full of experiences.

That being said, money I do believe money is important because it gives you choices. It’s hard to be happy when you aren’t sure how you are going to get your bills paid. That is stressful. Trust me, working in the radio industry majority of my adult life I know how it is to live paycheck to paycheck. I remember grocery shopping with a calculator while working my first job out of college in Mauston, WI (a small town near Wisconsin Dells). I lived in a motel until I could get in an apartment, and I worked as a bartender on the side just to be able to  pay all my bills. Oddly enough, even living in such a tight financial situation I still was really happy and enjoyed life to the fullest. Made do with what I had.

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Here is a question for you, how much money do you think a person needs to make in a year to be happy in Minnesota? A survey was done to determine that amount of money that needs to be made to be happy and this is what they came up with for the state of Minnesota:

  • Salary you need to be happy: $106,575
  • Salary you need for life evaluation: $96,425
  • Salary you need for emotional well-being: $60,900-$76,125

I would like to add the residents of the Southern and Midwestern states may have a better shot at happiness, because they spend less on annual expenditures than other parts of the country. Life is a little more affordable. I remember when my close friend Jill moved from CA to MN she didn’t seem to think a 5 bedroom 4 bath half million dollar home was very expensive since that’s how much a two bedroom condo was in San Diego.

Money can’t buy happiness, just it comes from the life you live, the people you surround yourself with and the job you work.

Source: www.gobankingrates.com

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