{"id":3138,"date":"2018-01-29T12:16:11","date_gmt":"2018-01-29T17:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/?p=3138"},"modified":"2019-04-23T15:44:09","modified_gmt":"2019-04-23T19:44:09","slug":"what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Hygge? How can it help us live better, be happier, and save more?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

My family and I were sitting around the dinner table after Christmas, talking about the future. Where would we go when we retire one day? Where would my millennial children live and work? (The oldest embarked on her career about a year ago. The other two are in college.) Would my husband and I be near them? We talked about which states were best to retire in, which had the best economy for each of our children\u2019s career paths. As our discussion continued, we began to talk about other countries – we knew Italy, Costa Rica, and Japan had the highest longevity. Then we decided to find out which countries were actually the happiest. In our search, we found the United Nations publishes a\u00a0World<\/em>\u00a0Happiness<\/em>\u00a0Report<\/em>\u00a0where we saw the northern, cold countries were the happiest on earth. How could that be? They were freezing, buried in snow for months, had less daylight, less summer, and some had higher tax rates than we do.<\/p>

We discovered they were happy due to their healthcare systems and other government and political interventions, but they also have a profound sense of community and social well-being built up over centuries of living in a harsh environment. They care for one another, working as communities to make sure everyone is okay. They have created a way of life – taking what some would consider difficult and turning it around to find the best in it. \u00a0It is called \u201cHygge\u201d (pronounced \u02c8HEW-g<\/u>\u0259<\/u>\u00a0\u2019 or \u2018HOO-g<\/u>\u0259<\/u>\u00a0\u2019). \u201cHygge\u201d is the Scandinavian word for a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment. Itactually is the art of taking what may be negative in your life, looking at it positively instead and seeing the good within it.<\/p>

Look at your shoes, are they worn and not flashy? Are you embarrassed? Shine them up and instead, be proud and think, \u201cLook where they have taken me and where I can still go in them!\u201d Instead of thinking \u201cmy car is old and beat up; I wish I had a new Mercedes,\u201d look at your car and think how smart you are; how much money you kept in your pocket instead of doling out thousands of dollars of your hard-earned money to the dealership or bank! Lovingly, clean up your car. (I named my 12-year old car Bessie. Bessie has taken my children, their friends, my husband, and me on many adventures and through many experiences!).<\/p>

This is such a great concept for all of us; myself, my family, friends, clients, associates, all Americans! Just think how we can save money by appreciating what we have and using small things to make us feel good. We don\u2019t need brand new cars, big homes, brand name clothing, high-cost phone and cable services, high tech gear, expensive meals and nights out!<\/p><\/div>

We can all appreciate what we have and look at our possessions lovingly, see friends more often, do volunteer work, and seek to adopt the art of \u201cHygge\u201d living to be more comfortable! After all, studies show it isn\u2019t more money that makes us happy, it is not being stressed about our money that makes us happy! Saving money does increase our endorphins! It\u2019s never too late to start!<\/p>

I wanted to start the art of \u201cHygge\u201d in my home. For Christmas, one of my kids gave me a salt lamp (of course, using a coupon from a big-box store). I keep it lit in the living room. It glows a warm yellow-orange all the time and contributes to our good mood! I took out old blankets and put them on all the sofas. I left the Christmas lights up a little longer this year. My husband made Chicken Cacciatore, an Italian \u201chunter\u2019s\u201d stew with chicken thighs. It was an inexpensive, heartwarming family meal that meant more than any restaurant dinner.<\/p>

I put links to \u201cHygge\u201d below for you, in case you would like to research for yourself and start the \u201cHygge\u201d way of living! Invite your friends over for a candlelit dinner instead of going out and spending $100 at a bar. Create warm cozy nooks in your home and play board games or read while drinking hot cocoa. Make a ritual out of making your favorite tea or coffee in a cherished cup instead of spending $5.00 on a latte.<\/p>

I say hooray for \u201cHygge\u201d!<\/p>

May I suggest you start the art of \u201cHygge\u201d too and let me know if it brought you more happiness and ways to save!<\/p>

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hygge<\/a><\/p>

http:\/\/www.countryliving.com\/life\/a41187\/what-is-hygge-things-to-know-about-the-danish-lifestyle-trend\/?src=social-email<\/a><\/p>

http:\/\/hyggevita.com<\/a><\/p>

Happy Hygge!<\/p>

With Best Wishes of Warmth and Coziness,<\/p>

Guest Contributor:<\/strong>\u00a0Paula Mucci,\u00a0<\/strong>AFC\u00ae<\/sup>, Financial Coach \u2013 CFPB Financial Coaching Program Contractor \u2013 Armed Forces Services Corporation, Workforce New York Career Center<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\"\"<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

January 29, 2018<\/span><\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My family and I were sitting around the dinner table after Christmas, talking about the future. Where would we go when we retire one day? Where would my millennial children live and work? (The oldest embarked on her career about a year ago. The other two are in college.) Would my husband and I be near them? We talked about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-saving"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is Hygge? How can it help us live better, be happier, and save more? - AFCPE<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is Hygge? How can it help us live better, be happier, and save more? - AFCPE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My family and I were sitting around the dinner table after Christmas, talking about the future. Where would we go when we retire one day? Where would my millennial children live and work? (The oldest embarked on her career about a year ago. The other two are in college.) Would my husband and I be near them? We talked about […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AFCPE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-29T17:16:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-04-23T19:44:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/hygge.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"399\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"277\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachael Deleon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rachael Deleon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/\",\"name\":\"What Is Hygge? How can it help us live better, be happier, and save more? - AFCPE\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/hygge.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-29T17:16:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-04-23T19:44:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ccae601ec179bf73fabbf4b3c6f688f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/hygge.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/hygge.png\",\"width\":399,\"height\":277},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Is Hygge? How can it help us live better, be happier, and save more?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/\",\"name\":\"AFCPE\",\"description\":\"Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ccae601ec179bf73fabbf4b3c6f688f8\",\"name\":\"Rachael Deleon\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab24a29c7aadc1652d9f81f409950cf6cba10ad20c158ceaad83e8b44bbf2b4a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab24a29c7aadc1652d9f81f409950cf6cba10ad20c158ceaad83e8b44bbf2b4a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rachael Deleon\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/author\/rachael\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Is Hygge? How can it help us live better, be happier, and save more? - AFCPE","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Is Hygge? How can it help us live better, be happier, and save more? - AFCPE","og_description":"My family and I were sitting around the dinner table after Christmas, talking about the future. Where would we go when we retire one day? Where would my millennial children live and work? (The oldest embarked on her career about a year ago. The other two are in college.) Would my husband and I be near them? We talked about […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/","og_site_name":"AFCPE","article_published_time":"2018-01-29T17:16:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-04-23T19:44:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":399,"height":277,"url":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/hygge.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Rachael Deleon","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rachael Deleon","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/","url":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/","name":"What Is Hygge? How can it help us live better, be happier, and save more? - AFCPE","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/hygge.png","datePublished":"2018-01-29T17:16:11+00:00","dateModified":"2019-04-23T19:44:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ccae601ec179bf73fabbf4b3c6f688f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/hygge.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/hygge.png","width":399,"height":277},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/what-is-hygge-how-can-it-help-us-live-better-be-happier-and-save-more\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Is Hygge? How can it help us live better, be happier, and save more?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/","name":"AFCPE","description":"Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ccae601ec179bf73fabbf4b3c6f688f8","name":"Rachael Deleon","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab24a29c7aadc1652d9f81f409950cf6cba10ad20c158ceaad83e8b44bbf2b4a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab24a29c7aadc1652d9f81f409950cf6cba10ad20c158ceaad83e8b44bbf2b4a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Rachael Deleon"},"url":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/author\/rachael\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}