Change Your Mindset About Money With Financial & Happiness Expert Ken Honda by 30Seconds Mom

The coronavirus pandemic has brought with it an abundance of hardships, including money problems for many of us. Lack of money can bring unhappiness, but even having money doesn't mean it's happy money. Ken Honda believes money is energy, and it can be happy or unhappy. "If you have happy money, you have a happy life. Conversely, if you have unhappy money, you have an unhappy life. The key to a happy life starts with happy money," he says.

Since Ken discovered this idea, he has impacted millions and sold over seven million copies of his book, Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace With Your Money. Read on to learn how you can make your money happy...

Q. You talk about Happy Money and Unhappy Money, but what does that mean, really?

A. Money can make us feel positive emotions like joy, warmth, appreciation, whereas unhappy money makes us feel irritated, fearful and frustrated. It’s obvious which kind of money flows into your life. It takes only one second to figure it out. When you think of money, do you feel open, relaxed and happy about it or do you feel tense and scared and tight? So, our body knows the answer to this question already, it's just our minds that have to figure it out after the fact.

Thanks, I'm glad to be here. I'm looking forward to learning more about the concept of Happy Money. I think it's an interesting concept. #30seconds

— Kembala Evans (@Kembala) February 18, 2021

That's an excellent point. My parents were immigrants, I'm a first-generation American. I think that very much shaped my motivation to succeed. #30Seconds

— Elisa Schmitz (@elisatalk) February 18, 2021

Q. What is a Happy Money mindset, and how can it promote prosperity?

A. Happy Money mindset is "abundance flows to you no matter where you are or what you do." It comes in many forms: deep, healthy connections with people you care about, the lifework you pursue and the things you love. Ultimately, money is just a tool to make your dreams come true, so abundance mentality is “you can achieve your dreams no matter what.”

A2 I think money has karma. It seems the more generous I am, the more I have coming back to me somehow. #30seconds

— Toni B (@rychepet) February 18, 2021

I think that's why I like movies based on real life...other people have had hardships & survived and so can I! #30seconds

— Toni B (@rychepet) February 18, 2021

Q. It's one thing to talk about a shift to Happy Money, but what about people who are truly struggling with surviving day to day?

A. When you’re sick, you cannot lift your focus away from your pain. That’s all you can manage to think about. But when you recover, you forget how it felt when you were sick and full of pain. Financial difficulty is the same. A lot of people who are now very comfortable with money experienced setbacks in their life. When you’re in the middle of that situation, it’s hard to imagine that you will one day get out of debt and become stress-free from money. But you have to start actively wanting to create a healthy situation financially, the same with health.

Wanting is the first step. Second is asking, "what can I do to get out of this situation. It's so true and not necessarily your fault if you’re born into a difficult situation, so you often tend to believe there’s not much money around. But once you start meeting other people who are abundant, you start thinking, “maybe there are different worlds than the one I used to know,” and then your life will start shifting.

Such an excellent point, Kembala. The pandemic has hurt us in many ways, but a silver lining has been the growth of remote work and entrepreneurial opportunities. #30Seconds

— Elisa Schmitz (@elisatalk) February 18, 2021

You can always ask a friend or family member for a 2nd opinion. Sometimes it's hard to see the trees from the forest. #30seconds

— Toni B (@rychepet) February 18, 2021

You'll start seeing more opportunities when you make up your mind to find them. The first step is to open yourself up to opportunities, and the second steps is to look around to see which doors will open for you #30seconds

— Ken Honda Happy (@KenHondaHappy) February 18, 2021

Q. Times are really tough right now. How can we invite more money into our lives?

A. First thing you have to know is "this too shall pass." It’s not gonna stay this way forever. Second, there are things you can do to create new opportunities to invite more money into your life. It could be a part time job or it could be something on the internet, but whatever you to there are two kinds of side jobs: General "labor" jobs that mean a lot of hard work, and jobs that you do with your gifts. You get paid more if you apply your unique skills and gifts.

Couldn't agree more - if you can turn your passion into your purpose, that is the ideal. Even if you have to start it as a side hustle while you work another job. #30Seconds

— Elisa Schmitz (@elisatalk) February 18, 2021

Q. What does it mean to have a loving, abundant relationship with money?

A. The ideal situation is that in your everyday life, you don’t think about money because there’s so much money in your life you never have to worry about making ends meet. All expenses get paid out every month from your huge bank account and you have much more money coming in than going out.

A loving relationship is, "you do what you love and money plays very little part, and you can express your love and excitement about the activities you care about." If that is the main focus of your life, I think you clearly have a healthy relationship with money. In other words, if you don’t have to think about money to do whatever you like to do, you already have a good relationship. (If you think, "Oh no, I don’t have the money to move, buy presents, whatever," then you probably don’t.)

Yes, it's a symbiotic relationship - money flowing in and out all the time! #30Seconds

— Elisa Schmitz (@elisatalk) February 18, 2021

Q. You say how we relate to money is how we relate to life. What do you mean by that?

A. If you have a happy relationship with money, you are more likely to have beautiful relationships with your work, family, friends and clients. If you are frustrated with money, you are likely to have family members and friends who feel frustrated, too. If you have good relationship with money, it's likely that you have created similar happy relationships in your money and work situations. And if you’re happy with how much you make from your work, you likely have less fights with your partner and family, and have a better relationship with friends and clients.

Why? Because happier people in a good state of mind do a better job at those things. If you have more than enough money, you have more smiles in your life. If your money AND relationships are both doing well, your life is good to go.

A6 If you have a positive attitude, you can see all the things you CAN do, instead of feeling like life/money is holding you back. #30Seconds

— Toni B (@rychepet) February 18, 2021

Communication is key #30Seconds

— Toni B (@rychepet) February 18, 2021

Q. What can we do to fight less with our partners about money?

A. First, we have to understand why certain things are important for your loved ones. Most of the time we don’t understand why they’re so angry upset and stubborn because our values are different because we’re born and brought up in different family and household. So naturally, our value system is different. Some people want to spend on food and going out and others want to spend more on books. They both think it’s the right thing to do, but the right thing to do is different depending on the person you grab.

Wanting to support others is a great motivation for finding ways to earn more money. If you're not there yet, don't be hard on yourself, but look for those opportunities to come to you #30seconds

— Ken Honda Happy (@KenHondaHappy) February 18, 2021

Q. You have a special relationship with your daughter. What is the main thing, in your view, parents must teach their children about money?

A. I think the most important thing is money brings "happiness” not “fights and tragedy.” Money is such a convenient tool to make everybody happy, so like any other tool like knives and fire, with proper knowledge and care it’s very useful in your life. Money can and does buy happiness. What if you get an extra bonus. Are you not gonna be happy? It makes you feel happiness and joy and freedom and excitement! The knife itself doesn’t make you happy because it’s just a tool. But you can cook a nice meal with a knife and that makes you happy. Money is the same way.

A8 budgets and needs vs wants #30Seconds

— Lisa Phillips (@GlaunerLisa) February 18, 2021

I would say to my daughter don't be an employee, be an entrepreneur :) #30seconds

— sandra milena ruiz (@mileruiz) February 18, 2021

I love that! think of money as a tool #30Seconds

— Toni B (@rychepet) February 18, 2021

Get more tips from Ken at KenHonda.com.

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