Does money and happiness really go hand in hand? There actually have been a number of studies that aimed to determine if money does indeed bring happiness, and research supports both sides of the argument. Some results show that as income increases, responsibility increases and money problems never actually go away. In fact, they may even become worse. Other studies claim that money allows people to eat and live healthier, which reduces stress and increases happiness. Then there is research that claims that money does not bring happiness, but it is actually happiness that allows you to be more successful and increase your income.

Regardless of what the research shows, whether or not money brings you happiness is what you make of the situation and how you handle your money. What is happiness after all?

Some people couldn’t be happier living with their spouse in a cabin in a small town with one used car, their old furniture and a small fishing boat. Others need a garage full of cars and a private jet to feel that same level of satisfaction in life.

Whether or not money brings you happiness completely depends on your attitude towards money. How it makes you feel, how you manage it, and how you treat others with money determines what money can do for you. Consider these questions:

1. What does it feel like when you can’t afford something?

2. How do you feel when you can treat yourself or others to something special?

3. Do you worry about money and your future?

4. What do you think of people who are rich?

5. Do these feelings differ towards people who flaunt their money?

6. Why do you feel being wealthy would make you happy?

Whether or not money brings you happiness has everything to do with your attitude towards money. If you dislike people who are rich because they have things in life that you can’t have, turn those thoughts around. If you don’t like people who have wealth, will you be able to live with yourself when you become wealthy? Instead of being jealous or hateful towards rich people, be happy for them, admire them, and imagine what it will be like when you become wealthy.

For those who allow money to bring them happiness, it can be a wonderful thing. It not only allows you to enjoy the things you love to do most, but money allows you to express yourself and get more out of life. It can allow you to:

• Say “I love you” with romantic nights out on the town or thoughtful gifts.
• Have the freedom to spend time with your family.
• Travel the world and experience unimaginable adventures.
• Have the opportunity to become educated and develop new skills and talents.
• Have the chance to spend your time doing what you love most.
• Give back to those in need.
• Have the ability to choose your own course in life.

Money can bring happiness, but it is easy to allow it to bring you guilt, stress and dissatisfaction. Money can drive people further into debt, make them mean spirited, and unable to realize a sense of achievement in life.

It is important to realize that money in of itself will not bring you happiness, but it can be a tool to help you achieve the things that you value most in life. When you identify what it is that you truly value and align money with those thoughts and ideas, you can realize ultimate happiness.

Don’t get money confused with being the answer to your problems or it will just create more problems and turn you into a person you dislike. Instead, think about the things that mean the most to you. If money were no object, what would you do? How would you spend your time and with whom? What would be most important to you? Find out what brings you the most happiness and let that drive your desire to achieve financial freedom.

Millionaire Money Habits: Becoming a millionaire may not necessarily mean having a million dollars in the bank. Decide for yourself what happiness means to you.

Be sure to visit My Two Dollars for a chance to win 1-year subscription to eFinPLAN online financial planning software (a $98 value).

Spotlight: Jeremy at Generation X Finance breaks down the pros and cons of investing in ETFs and Mutual Funds and helps determine which is right for you.

Being Frugal:
10 Frugal Hobbies at Blueprint to Financial Prosperity
Does Your Wallet Have a Leak at The Wisdom Journal
Find The Best Jobs To Ride Out A Recession at The Digerati Life

Recession Proof Your Life:
Budget for the Recession Now at Gather Little by Little
75 Tips to Survive a Down Economy at Frugal Dad
How Are Gas Prices Determined? at Single Guy Money
Advice That Might Have Turned My Financial Life Around…Or Not at beingfrugal.net

Credit and Debt:
What is Credit Card Arbitrage? at My Dollar Plan
Think Twice Before Canceling Credit Cards at Cash Money Life
A Year Of Debt Reduction at Paid Twice

Personal Finance Carnivals:
Carnival of Personal Finance
Money Hacks Carnival
Carnival of Debt Reduction

Millionaire Money Habit: To learn how to become a millionaire, you need to perpetually improve your financial literacy. Digest as much information as possible and stick to a plan that works for you. Be sure to subscribe to this site’s RSS feed or by email to be notified of new articles posted here.

Mint.com has quickly become the hippest personal finance management website. In some ways Mint competes with Mvelopes, the online budgeting program that helps you to allocate your money before you spend it, but Mint does a bit more. It makes managing your money fun while taking almost all of the work out of it. In five minutes you can open an account, enter your bank and credit card info, and you are done. Mint will pull all of your balance and transaction information and provides great graphic detail of your financial life.

Not only does Mint break down your spending behavior, it will alert you when your balance is low, when a bill is due or when you have overspent your budget. But wait, there’s more! Mint.com also give you personalized money savings tips based on how you are spending your money.

But is Mint Secure?

Mint consolidates all your accounts, creates pretty pictures and offers great advice based on all of the financial data it has pulled from your accounts. That’s great, except you have to give them your bank account numbers and passwords to all your financial accounts. All it takes is one smart hacker to get access to your Mint account to see all your personal finance data. Are you comfortable with that?

You can feel confident that your data with Mint.com is safe. After you enter your banking information in your account, your user names and passwords cannot be viewed in any way. Your data is not stored in any way, and financial transactions cannot be made with Mint. That means Mint employees and Mint hackers will never have access to this information.

Mint.com also uses Yodlee, the same online banking service provider that is used by leading US financial institutions. You can feel confident your account is safe and sound with Yodlee, as they are audited by the FDIC and the Federal Reserve, among others.

If you have multiple bank and credit card accounts, which most people do, Mint.com can actually provide an extra level of security. Since it is unlikely for you to check all of your accounts on a daily basis for unusual transactions, Mint can provide a one-stop-shop to view all accounts. You can even create alerts for Mint to inform you of suspicious activity and changes in account balances.

For more information on Mint.com’s security, visit the Is Mint Really Secure forums. Otherwise, another popular option is to test drive Mvelopes program for free.

Millionaire Money Habits: It is tough to build wealth if you can’t keep your money. While the many personal finance software programs that exist can simplify your life and help you achieve your financial goals, make sure your identity and account information is safe and secure.