1. Live Below Your Means

There will always be temptation to forsake the future for immediate gratification. We all want to buy that new piece of technology, treat ourselves to an expensive night on the town, or take out a loan for the flashy car we can’t afford. It might feel great at the time but rash spending hurts a lot later on.

Enjoy life’s simple pleasures and save as much as you can. Expensive things don’t create lasting happiness and security. Careful spending will bring you greater leisure and enjoyment in the long run.

2. Put Your Money to Work

Saving is great, but to make the most of your money you need to put it to work. Good investments can be the difference between retiring in your 40’s or in your 60’s.

A post today at The Simple Dollar really got me thinking. According to Trent’s projections, if a person in their early 20’s invests 20% of their income in an S&P index fund, the interest they earn will equal their current salary when they reach their early 40’s. They could retire without a drop in income!

Wise investing is the surest path to financial independence and it’s something everyone can work on. It’s definitely an area I’ll be devoting more attention to in my personal life and on this blog.

3. Educate Yourself

To be happy we need continuous growth. The best way to grow is life long education. This doesn’t mean you need to pursue a doctorate or spend 2 hours reading every day. Self education can be anything that takes you out of your comfort zone. The important part is keeping an open mind and searching for fresh ideas and perspectives.

Education builds over time. It might feel like the bits of wisdom you acquire don’t mean much, but over the years they add up to form a wiser, kinder, more interesting person.

4. Develop Lasting Personal Relationships

Suppose you had everything you wanted. Would you be happy without anyone to share it with? The personal relationships we develop with friends and family members are the greatest source of happiness in our lives. Don’t forget about them.

Taking the time to cultivate and enjoy personal relationships is essential to longterm happiness. Without the people you care about you’ll probably be miserable, no matter how successful you become.

5. Work Towards a Dream You’re Passionate About

Even if your life isn’t perfect, you can always build towards a goal you’re passionate about. If you aren’t building towards something, you’re probably stagnating. When this happens to me I start to feel like a victim trapped by my own life. The best way to reverse this is working towards a goal.

We can’t control everything about our lives, but working towards a goal gives us something positive to focus on and lays the foundation for future success. No matter what your passion is, get out there and start doing something. As Lao Tzu said, even a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.

Bonus: 6. Stay in Shape

You only get one body. Once it’s been ruined there isn’t much you can do about it. Exercise to keep the rust off. Avoid excessive consumption of damaging substances and unhealthy foods. It may feel like terrible self denial at the time but enjoying good health in your later years is worth the sacrifice.

1.理智消費(fèi)

人們總是為了滿足眼前利益而不顧后顧之憂。每個(gè)人都想擁有最新的電子產(chǎn)品，享受一次奢侈的夜晚，或者貸款購(gòu)買一輛根本無(wú)法負(fù)擔(dān)的炫車。盡管可以滿足一時(shí)的快感，但盲目消費(fèi)會(huì)對(duì)以后的生活造成不良的影響。

應(yīng)當(dāng)享受簡(jiǎn)單的生活并盡全力的儲(chǔ)蓄。奢侈品并不能令人產(chǎn)生持久的幸福感和安全感。理智消費(fèi)才能帶來(lái)更大的樂(lè)趣和長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)的享受。

2. 讓你的錢(qián)為你工作

儲(chǔ)蓄很重要，但是為了賺得更多的錢(qián)你需要理財(cái)。正確的投資會(huì)極大的影響你的生活。例如，你的退休年齡將會(huì)是40歲還是60歲。

今天《The Simple Dollar》中的一則快訊引起了我的思考。根據(jù)Trent的統(tǒng)計(jì)，如果一個(gè)人在２０歲時(shí)將收入的20%投入到S&P基金中；當(dāng)他４０歲時(shí)，賺的利息等同于他當(dāng)時(shí)的薪水。這意味著，他可以提前退休并不會(huì)損失一分錢(qián)。

合理投資是通向經(jīng)濟(jì)獨(dú)立的最可靠途徑。這也是每個(gè)人都可以掌握的技能。就我個(gè)人而言，這也是我的博客，甚至我的生活中很重要的一部分。

3. 學(xué)習(xí)，學(xué)習(xí)，再學(xué)習(xí)！

為了獲得幸福，我們需要不斷的成長(zhǎng)，而其中最好的方式就是終生學(xué)習(xí)。然而這并不意味著你需要獲得博士學(xué)位或者每天閱讀2小時(shí)。教育的真正目的在于永不滿足，重要的是保持開(kāi)放性的思維方式，追求新鮮的理念，開(kāi)拓更廣闊的視角。

學(xué)習(xí)需要積累。每一個(gè)知識(shí)點(diǎn)似乎不足掛齒，但日積月累，你就會(huì)成為一個(gè)更加智慧，善良，閱歷更加豐富的人。

4.建立長(zhǎng)久的人際關(guān)系

假如你擁有了夢(mèng)想的一切，但沒(méi)有人與你分享，你還會(huì)快樂(lè)嗎？我們與朋友和家人的關(guān)系是生活中最大的幸福來(lái)源。別忽視他們�；〞r(shí)間建立并享受這種人際關(guān)系是延續(xù)幸福的必要手段。如果一個(gè)人周圍沒(méi)有值得去關(guān)心的人，無(wú)論多成功，都是可悲的。

5.努力工作，向夢(mèng)想挺進(jìn)！

即使生活不完美，你也可以充滿激情的去創(chuàng)造。生活如逆水行舟，不進(jìn)則退。當(dāng)我處于這種境況時(shí)，我會(huì)覺(jué)得像一名被自我束縛的受害者。最好的解決辦法是設(shè)立目標(biāo)，并努力工作。

我們不能控制生活中的一切，但有目的的打拼讓我們集中精力于某一積極性的目標(biāo)，并為未來(lái)的成功奠定基礎(chǔ)。無(wú)論你的目標(biāo)是什么，開(kāi)始吧！正如老子說(shuō)的，千里之行，始于足下。

6.保持身體健康

每個(gè)人都只擁有一個(gè)身體，失而不能復(fù)得。應(yīng)當(dāng)堅(jiān)持鍛煉，讓身體充滿活力；避免過(guò)多消耗對(duì)身體有害的物質(zhì)；遠(yuǎn)離不健康食品。起初你會(huì)覺(jué)得難以堅(jiān)持，但比起晚年所能得到的健康，這些代價(jià)是值得付出的。