Top 3 tips to balance Wealth and Happiness

A few years back, one of my young staffers suggested I condense everything I’ve learned into a few simple ideas to serve as a guide to those starting out, starting over or maybe realizing they’re not where they’d like to be.

While certainly a challenge, it’s a worthy one.

So here goes: the 10 commandments of achieving financial independence — and maybe getting a little happier while you do it.

1. Live like you’ll die tomorrow, but invest like you’ll live forever

The ease of making money in stocks, real estate or other risk-based assets is inversely proportional to the time horizon. In other words, making money over long periods of time is easy — making money overnight is the flip of a coin.

Money is like a tree: Plant it properly, care for it occasionally — but not obsessively — then wait.

The biggest winner in my IRA is Apple. I believe I bought it in 2002 or 2003 and I still have it. Had I been listening to CNBC or some other media outlet promoting trading, I almost certainly wouldn’t still own it.

The lesson? Enjoy your life to the fullest every day — live like you’re going to die tomorrow. But since you’re probably not going to die tomorrow, plant part of your money in quality stocks, real estate or other investments. Then, hold onto them.

Don’t ignore your investments entirely. Sometimes fundamentals change, indicating it’s time to move on. But don’t act rashly. Patience pays.

2. Listen to your own voice above all others

My job as a consumer reporter has included listening to countless sad stories about nice people being separated from their money by people who weren’t so nice. These stories run the gamut from real estate deals to work-from-home scams, but they all start the same way: with a promise of something that seems too good to be true.

And they all end the same way: It was too good to be true.

If someone promises they can make you 3,000% in the stock market, they’re either a fool for sharing that information, or a liar. Why would you send money to either kind of person?

When someone promises a simple solution to a complex problem, stop listening to them and start listening to your own inner voice.

3. Covet bad economic times

Wealth is realized when the economy is booming. But wealth is created when times are tough, unemployment is high, everybody’s freaking out, and there’s nothing but economic misery on the horizon.

Would you rather buy a house for $450,000 or $250,000? Would you rather invest in stocks when the Dow is at 26,000 or 10,000?

Nobody wants their fellow citizens to be out of work. But the cyclical nature of our economy all but ensures this will periodically happen. If you still have a job when the next downturn arrives, it will be the time you’ve been saving for. Don’t listen to all the Chicken Littles in the media. The sky isn’t falling. Put your cash to work and create some wealth.