Relationship With Money

I recently read an article called “Perfection Anxiety” from an old copy of Vanity Fair magazine. In it 25 year old Petra Ecclestone, the daughter of Formula One mogul Bernie, and her recently married husband, bought an $85,000,000 mansion in Los Angeles. Wow, and I thought Vancouver real estate was expensive. 😛 Before moving in to their new home they also spent $19,000,000 on their wedding. 😯 To put that into context the average wedding in the United States only costs about $25,000. But of course most weddings don’t serve bottles of $6,000 Chateau Petrus, nor does the bride wear a $130,000 Vera Wang dress.

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If that wasn’t enough excitement for the couple they later bought a 17th century self-portrait by Van Dyck for $20,000,000. 😕

The article goes on to explain how the unfathomable rich tend to play the demanding game of constantly pursuing the best in the world. When money isn’t an issue there’s no excuse for not having the very best, lol. “The super-rich watch each other like envious owls, to see who’s got a slightly better loafer, a pullover made from some even more absurdly endangered fur.” In this world of absolute wealth things are either the most impeccable, the finest, or the rarest. Otherwise it might as well be from Walmart. These wealthy spenders like Petra and her husband are constantly on the lookout for new luxuries. But after they’ve bought, consumed, collected, and holidayed themselves into boredom, they will realize that no matter how much money they have they will never be satisfied. The Rich Kids of Beverly Hills are more examples of wealthy millennials who are often stressed out and discontent with their lives despite their riches.

Relationship With Money

I think this is a good reminder to the rest of us commoners that money doesn’t always buy happiness. Sometimes we like to daydream about being rich. “My life would be so much better if I were a millionaire,” we’d think to ourselves. But many of us don’t know how to manage a large amount of money even if we had it today. The best way to actually become a millionaire is to learn how money works, how it circulates in the world, and how to hang on to it when it comes into our possession. 🙂 By doing these things, money will automatically come to us. Fellow blogger Tawcan recently explained that what we focus on will naturally want to grow. So we must become the change we want to see in the world.

Here’s another common excuse: “If only I had a husband/wife, my life would be so much better.” Sorry, but if we’re not happy with our lives the way they are now then that’s probably not going to change when we’re married. We must first want to become a better person, be willing to change, and be willing to work for it. If we put in the effort and do some soul searching then love, happiness, and success will automatically flow into our lives. 🙂 Both relationship and financial successes begin from within. We have to associate ourselves with what we want to become. That’s why many households who make an average income are living happier and much more fulfilling lives than Petra and her husband. It’s not about having more money, it’s about solidifying a healthy relationship towards money. It’s about knowing what our deepest values are and using effective financial planning as part of a greater life plan. 😀

Maybe we should all take a bit of time to rethink our relationship with money. Are we being driven to buy things for ourselves or for the acceptance from other people? What kind of existence do we want to live? What void are we trying to fill with money? There are some problems money can’t solve, and they’re usually the ones that matter the most. 😉 Having wealth should not add stress, anxiety, or complications to our lives. If it does then we have to change the way we think about money before it’s too late and we become a victim to perfection anxiety. 😐

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Random Useless Fact:
This is how Canadians typically dress in the winter.

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From the top that’s (-40°F) (-22°F) (-4°F) and (14°F)

 

 

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Clarisse
04/07/2015 6:55 am

A bridal gown of 130,000?!! You’re right, money can’t really buy happiness. I’m not rich but I can say that I’m happy because I have my daughter with me.

Will @firstqfinance
Will @firstqfinance
04/07/2015 7:21 am

That is a beautiful dress. But honestly, I can’t tell if it’s a $500 dress or a six-figure dress. I don’t get why people spend so much. Although I do suffer from perfection anxiety. Maybe the people who buy the six-figure dress suffer from just a higher level of anxiety than I do. Who knows. Humans are complicated.

Jane
Jane
04/07/2015 8:06 am

Ha! Love the pictures (although maaybe up that by 20 degrees! I was definitely outside with a tanktop on the other week when it was plus 10 with sun)

Nice article…very true. I think I’ve read somewhere that the base household income where anything further doesn’t add on degrees of happiness is $75K. I agree with that…my real happiness these days is derived from time with my family and friends!

Asset Grinder
Asset Grinder
04/07/2015 10:44 am

You nailed it on the head with this post. Money management is key. “If only I had a husband/wife, my life would be so much better.” This rings so true as I know a couple people like that and they think all their problems are external but never look within

Tawcan
04/07/2015 12:36 pm

If you’re not happy with yourself, you are not going to be happy with someone else. One important thing about relationship is that you shouldn’t need the other partner to keep you happy.

PC
PC
04/07/2015 7:42 pm

Its okay they are spending proportional to their wealth. They have so much money that they can buy whatever their heart desires. I can only imagine being in their shoes. Swoon.

PC
PC
04/08/2015 12:20 pm
Reply to  PC

I guess they went on a wild spending spree on daddy’s money. Ahh, spoiled girls http://elitedaily.com/entertainment/celebrity/ecclestone-how/

Vivien
Vivien
04/08/2015 6:16 am

There’s a lot higher demands to keep up in the bigger cities for sure. Vancouver, although gets featured as place of snobby rich ppl, is still really not as excessive as the more metropolitan places compared to NY, LA, HK, London for instance.
Living in smaller towns/cities say Edmonton, Ottawa, or even the more rural parts of Canada is definitely a stark contrast with respect to demands for material excess from my experience. More time enjoyed on life, nature, fishing, camping, hunting, and less on having the top of the line, car, bag, neighbourhood. Sometimes the less urban parts of the world just seems easier, or easier to reach satisfaction/content.

Cultural background definitely has a big impact too on financial and relationship values. If you don’t mind disclosing, may I ask what your ethnicity is?

Courtney
04/08/2015 9:00 am

I love this comment “Both relationship and financial successes begin from within. We have to associate ourselves with what we want to become. ”

That is my goal everyday. To be who I want to be so that I can become who I want to become 🙂

save. spend. splurge.
04/08/2015 3:41 pm

An excellent post. Well said!

Vivianne
04/08/2015 6:42 pm

I play badminton, golf, tennis, etc. with each sport I play, I always buy the top of the line equipments – racket, shoes, clothes, etc. I’d rather play with the metal racket at home, than buy half way fake racket. I’d go for the newest arcsaber racket. Then I could use these quality item for a long long time. Gone with the days where I’d go to Payless shoes source to pay $40 for a pair of shoes that hurt my feet. I’d go to nike and buy $130/pair, or sanita for work shoes. The whole point is the rich people do it right. They go for quality, and ipthe stuff would last for a long time. The hoarders are tend to be very poor. Even if they are not poor, they are poor for being a hoarder. Imagine a pair of shoes is $1, it’s so cheap, they went a bought 130 of them, but they ended up hurting their feet, so $130 go to waste. Now, with that being said, when your family got billions, $130k for the dress that designed only for you, with copyright, or your name on the model dress. I’d go for it. Hehehe.… Read more »

Michelle (@BudgetBloggess)
04/09/2015 5:16 pm

“We must first want to become a better person, be willing to change, and be willing to work for it. If we put in the effort and do some soul searching then love, happiness, and success will automatically flow into our lives.” AMEN TO THAT! You have to be willing to take the time to understand yourself before you can truly appreciate everything life has to offer. With all the life changes I’ve been through, I’ve noticed that the more I improve myself and grow, the more wonderful people I’m surrounded with. Go-giver right?

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