Scandinavian secret Scandinavia, can make you happier and wealthier

Banking

People in the Nordic countries are among the happiest in the world. Here is one of the reasons.

family of four lying on a grassy hill in Norway.

If happiness is a competitive sport, the Nordic countries will take the gold (silver and bronze) medals. According to the World Happiness Report by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network released March Nordic citizens love life. In fact, all five Nordic countries – Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Sweden – 10 happiest countries of the column

What makes the Nordic people, even though they are notoriously long, cold winter so happy? Listen to them tell it, it’s a different thing. Nordic people appreciate their publicly funded health care system, almost free child care, free education, and gender equality.

There is something else Nordic. This is called lagom (pronounced “LA- glue”), the practice of Swedish words, roughly translated, means “just right.” If you’ve ever used the phrase “moderate everything”, then you have what lagom is about a sense of fairness. Nordic focus on life is to find a healthy balance, or to get it “just right.” It applies to a person how many hours of work per week, the amount of food they eat, and they do project that they no longer need. Lagom is not to limit themselves, but how to avoid excess.

Lagom apply to financial

You probably will not see a flicker of Scandinavia Scandinavia cash or boast about how much wealth they accumulate to. You What is e may Notic how simple it is to people living in the Nordic countries, as if “less is more” is ingrained in the public consciousness.

This mentality means that only their worship of things into their own homes, rather than something to enrich their own space. This means spending time and money in a thoughtful and purposeful way. Lagom is sometimes described as a minimalist form. It leads to cleaner, less waste, and more money to save or invest.

Swedish death cleaning ( döstädning )

Practice lagom asks you to do something with your family like to spend a wonderful time to enjoy the great outdoors, practice teamwork. It also endorsed the concept of “clean Swedish death.”

Sweden likes to say, “You can not take it with you.” Çan’t because you take it, you should not buy more than you need . It is considered rude to leave a room full of garbage to clean up after the death of family and friends. As you fight to purchase another pillow or tool, your temptation “you may need some day,” Imagine your family have after you’re gone.

IKEA’s method

You do not have to dispose of it like Ikea furniture to enjoy the Swedish powerhouse based lagom on the way to their business . IKEA sales of household items are simple, functional and affordable. The company offers seminar, the participants recommended that they avoid waste, in turn, save money. Seminar covers everything from how many things you actually decide to purchase only the amount of food you eat. Impact

Real-life lagom

And Barclays Economics and Business Research Center published a report found that the practice lagom and financial It can make you happier. British survey 4000 adults, researchers reported that lagom from step to help consumers continue to consume, re-evaluate their priorities and ultimately save money. An interesting takeaway

The report is that people would rather be able to put a little money into a savings account every month than to receive a raise. In other words, there is enough money, more important than the amount of high-income people.

To do with your money Lagom

  • Lagom way to purchase to meet the requirements of the project, but no more. For example, you can buy a reliable car, rather than spending more money on a gorgeous sports car.
  • No matter how much (or little) project paid for, to take care of it. You can find the appropriate to do anything for years.
  • to be aware ofHow do you buy food. This week plan ahead, create meals allow enough leftovers for lunch the next day, use coupons and special store, buy what you know you will eat. Planning meals by reducing the drive-through, and in the country less food waste spontaneous result of travel.
  • To get rid of spam. It’s tough when you’re using advertising, each designed to make you believe that you need some of the new bombing, in order to achieve balance. Ecological cycle offers some great ideas, block unwanted spam from Los Angeles nding in your mailbox. And you refuse to receive via e-mail? Take the time to unsubscribe. One of the pillars
  • Lagom involves reusable items might otherwise find their way to the landfill. For example, buy a used coffee table and refurbishment, and buy clothes (to sell more high-end design, at a fraction of the original price) at the thrift store, or trade baby clothes and a friend of a different size.

Reward you

Americans spend an average adult non-essentials $ 1,497 per month, according to the poll conducted for Onepoll. Dining out, receive subscription boxes, cable and streaming service pay and other unpaid expenses add up to nearly $ 18,000 per year.

You probably will not eat too much or pay for streaming music service, but if you’re like most people, spend an average of $ 109 per month of impulse buying, and what might be an appropriate amount can be in the long term What surprised you do.

Say you invest this amount in monthly composite interest rate of 9% (S & P 500 total return of 9.7% per year since 1965 has been produced). You will have to put away $ 1,372 a year later. 10 years, it will be $ twenty thousand eight hundred forty-one, and within 20 years, a small investment will be worth $ seventy thousand one hundred and eighty. And this month only $ 109. Imagine, you can see your budget for other small leaks save.

In the final analysis, lagom offer a simple life, a balanced manner. It is to reduce things for you, a way to focus more on the people you care about. It can make you wealthy, the fact that a lucky byproduct.