Can't Buy Me... Happiness?

I know they always say, "money can't buy me love" but can it buy me happiness? It is an interesting thing to think about and responses are as individual as snowflakes.

What happiness could money buy for you? 

Sorry my post was delayed.  I scheduled it to load automatically, but it didn't do that.  Ugh.

Welcome to my spot in the Blog Hop. If you are participating in the blog hop, you should have arrived from Pie for Breakfast. If you haven't been following, head back over to Scrapworthy Lives and start the hop.

For most of my life, I have been poor. We were really poor when I was growing up.  I didn't really know it at the time, but as we got older, mean comments from classmates clued me into that fact.  When I became a young adult, for a long time, I was a single mom, struggling to make ends meet.  I was frustrated and wanted more for my daughter.  Later, I had a boyfriend who was part of my life for ten years and had serious money issues, so it was always difficult financially.  Then, in 2003, I took a job where I was actually making a decent salary.  I was working my butt off, and it was like spending each day in an insane asylum, but it was nice to not have money worries all of the time.  It was a good feeling.

After a little while, the nice feeling wore off.  The stress of having a boss who was a wee bit on the crazy side began to take its toll.  I got phone calls at all hours, I was inundated with the major stress of running a company, and to top it off, I had at least an hour commute each way.  I started becoming disillusioned with the job, but I found it hard to think about giving up the salary.  The stress started getting to me.  A good friend sent me a copy of the book "Your Money or Your Life."  I didn't even have to read it.  I knew what it was going to tell me.  Finally, I remember driving to work one morning, listening to the radio, and I heard Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" and shortly afterward, I heard John Mellencamp's "Your Life is Now," and I realized that I needed to leave my job.

The decision was a blessing in disguise.  I no longer thought about leaving a salary... but I thought about regaining my life and my happiness.  I took a job much closer to home at 40% of what I was making before.  I went back to school and finished my lingering AA degree and within a few months, had also completed my BA.  I went on to start my MFA, and I was thrilled to do so.  And then, when I had the opportunity to leave that job to take care of Kennedy, I couldn't have been happier.  Now I don't really have much in the way of money, but taking care of him brings a ton of joy to my life.  I may not be able to buy everything I would like to buy, or take trips I'd like to take, but I pay my bills and have a tiny budget for scrapbooking/ craft supplies, so life is good.  It is all about perspective at this point in my life. 

The other day, I saw a sign on Pinterest that someone had created. It said something to the effect of "I've never been a millionaire, but I'd be adorable at it." I totally love it.  There are tons of things that I would do if I had money.  There are so many organizations or causes I would love to be able to donate money to, and a lot of little things I'd like to do or buy.  But I know that this is a temporary situation and that someday I will actually get a real paycheck.  For now, this lack of money gives me a reason to smile.

All I have to do is look at one little smile from him, and all is good.  Money can't buy this kind of happiness.

Where do you find happiness? What would you do if money were no object?

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share a little bit of my current happiness.  Up next is 1200 Some Miles.

Below is a full list of all blogs participating.

Scrapworthy Lives

Scrapping Mojo

Pie for Breakfast

Scraps & Sass

1200 Some Miles

Slice of Life

Our Life with Spiky Potatoes

Abstracts Mixed with Extracts

Your Memory Connection

Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking

Melissa's Blog