One reason so many people go broke so fast is the avalanche of other people assailing them, all telling them they’ve got the formula to kick their lives up a notch.

I mean, every time you step out, somebody is touting some product or service that’ll make your life so much brighter, lift your spirits, and turn around your prospects for a cheerier future. You’ve got the hairdresser telling you that you need that special haircut to set you right, the butcher offering you a prime cut that will leave you speechless at dinner time, the tailor, fashion designer, and retailer who have just about the right fit to turn heads as you walk down the street custom-fit in new threads.

There’s the insurance agent or banker who’ll sell you a product that will make you rich even if you have to go broke getting there, the shrink who promises to make you whole again, and the psychic who will predict a rosy future or damn you to hell if you don’t let them read your palms.

Then there’s the preacher, pandit, imam, rabbi who will show you the Promised Land – just make sure you leave a donation first though.

Yeah, everybody and their brother and sister have got a plan for you to turn your life around and make you to heights beyond your wildest dreams.

The thing is we all entered this world naked and our first cry of life was not for flashy garments or fancy trappings. Somehow along the journey, we lost our innocence and fell victim to the notion that outer trappings, gadgets, delicacies, stimulants, and assorted physical and material extravagances would guarantee perfect happiness and full satisfaction. And we need to get these things before our neighbors do so that we are always one step ahead.

We end up broke trying to get to that special place in life.

Yeah, we do need the comforts of life – but there are some things that money just can’t buy. Inner peace and tranquility, good thoughts free of malice, envy, and hate, appreciation for nature and for life, happy family moments, respect for others, dancing beneath the stars on a moonlit night, catching a glimpse of a fresh day at break of dawn, caring and sharing time and emotion, sending out good karma and receiving the same….these are often the ingredients of a good life that really count in the long-run…and you might still end up with money in your pocket.