Money can't buy happiness is the old saying that we fall back on when times are tough and the bank account isn't looking too good. This saying does give a measure of comfort, but it is only fleeting, because once the thought of happiness has come up, then we start asking ourselves, Are we really are happy?

It is true you can't actually go out and buy happiness. There is not a ratio of happiness to money, the more money you have will not make you that much happier, but with little money there is worry and stress. There is a strong ratio between stress and health

Financial stress is probably the number one concern for most people. It is hard to enjoy life when you are always worried about the next cent. Major stress has a trickle down effect on your health.

If you are not sleeping well because you are worried about unpaid bills, this will gradually take its toll on your body. Adequate rest is essential for good health.

If you are juggling two jobs and not eating properly your body won't be able to cope. When you need a paycheck, you need to be fit enough to earn it.

The amount of choices you are free to make is directly related to how much money you have. Wealth can help you to achieve lifestyle that improves your health, because you are under less stress, have the time and money to eat the right diet, and live in a healthy environment.

We all want lifestyle and not necessarily the million dollar kind. Some folks dreams are very ordinary. There is nothing ordinary though, about getting the extra money to achieve them.

Our dream was to be able to live aboard a sailing boat and we did manage it for a few short periods. No matter what we tried, we were never able to amass enough money to do it permanently.

We tried everything; sales jobs that were supposed to earn us fabulous commissions; being self employed that was to give us the ability to expand and the tax breaks that come with it; network marketing had all the potentials but none of the rewards. We even tried gambling systems and get rich quick schemes. At one time we were doing five jobs, as in physical jobs between us and still we were going nowhere.

The crunch came when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. During my recovery, I had a lot of time to think and I decided I wasn't happy with our lifestyle, or rather our way of life, as there was no "style" to it! We had sold our last yacht and moved ashore to give our two children a chance at going to university. Now they had left home, (they were both traveling the world, not going to university) we decided to buy another boat and have another shot at the dream.

In the beginning the cash flow had to come from conventional jobs. But that was okay because at the end of the day, when we sat on the deck having our sundowner we were living part of the dream.

We decided what we needed was a "portable income". That is an income that we could earn while we were on the move, an income that would allow us to stay on our yacht and cruise when we felt like it. We could have moved to the mountains or a beach. We didn't have to consider commuting to work or being in a populated area to give us an income.

Technological advances have made it easier to do business on the move via wireless broadband. So it was a logical choice for us to look in this direction to create our portable income. In the past, to have a telephone and computer connections meant having a place of residence and staying put. Not any more. We can literally have our office on board a boat.

I always worried about money, and when we got into debt I couldn't cope. My biggest dream was to be debt free. We don't have a big yacht, but we do have a lifestyle. Not constantly worrying about money, takes years off your age.

A portable income is exciting for us because now we can begin to think about other things we'd like. Old dreams can be brought out again and dusted off, because suddenly it's possible to think beyond a weekly paycheck.

Creating a portable income isn't easy, but once we had developed a system that we could repeat over and over, we knew we were on our way. The dividends when this starts to take off are not only financial, but gone also is the stress. Now we have lifestyle, and we will be healthy enough to enjoy it.