While spending your hard-earned money often sounds like a pleasurable and rewarding release, the research backs up your financially conservative friends’ advice to focus just as much on saving. Setting money aside is a boon to your peace of mind in the long-term, and it can also help you feel happier right now.

Are you starting to feel a little tug of regret about the car you didn’t buy or the destination wedding you opted not to attend? Set yourself at ease by remembering that the funds resting safely in your savings account didn’t go toward nothing, they went toward your peace of mind—something much more valuable than a one-time purchase.

The research about saving money and happiness is good news even if your paycheck is a lot smaller than your neighbor’s—financial happiness isn’t necessarily about how much you’re earning, it’s about the size of the nest egg that’s left over. Chances are good you can find creative ways of saving money that work for your income and needs.

There’s nothing wrong with spending a few extra dollars on something special; however, it’s worth considering whether a thriftier outlook might help you shake off stress and rest a little easier.

7 Ways Building a Nest Egg Complements Your Happiness

1. Feel secure

The rush of freedom that immediately follows leaving home for the first time is often quickly shadowed by something else: a feeling of vulnerability and unpreparedness. Building up a nest egg is a great way to combat the insecurities of independence—you’ll sleep better knowing that no matter what happens, you’re financially prepared.

2. Boost well-being

Feeling secure as you go about your day is an important element of your overall well-being. When you’re not under perpetual financial stress, shrinking from a string of looming payment due dates, you feel physically and emotionally better. Your heart health, blood pressure, and sleep schedule will benefit from the lack of stress too.

3. Be proud of your work

Looking back and seeing the progress you’ve made toward financial security can make you feel truly proud and accomplished. Not only will you remember the hard work of saving, you’ll remember the hard work of earning as well. Feeling good about yourself and your decisions makes it pretty easy to feel happy.

4. Flex your self-control muscles

Feeling like you’re in the driver’s seat of your own life is an important aspect of lasting peace. While you can’t always control what happens to you, you can control how prepared you feel for life’s curveballs and how you react to surprises. Building up a nest egg helps ensure that you’ll face uncertainty with calmness and clarity.

5. Feel independent

When you’re struggling financially, you might spend time wondering to whom and where you’ll turn if circumstances become dire. Maybe you’ve had to ask for help when you really didn’t want to—something that doesn’t feel very good. Regularly saving a small amount of money can help boost your confidence in your ability to stay afloat.

6. Enjoy planning

In the absence of adequate savings, planning for the future might feel remote and impractical. Financial dreaming becomes more guilt-free when you’re already working to save money. When you’re secure, planning is more about logistics and feels less like a distant fantasy.

7. Provide for others

There’s no monetary value on your relationships with your partner, your children, and your family—even if you had nothing, you’d likely be able to find solace and happiness in the home and life you share. A nest egg gives you the knowledge that you can take care of the people you love in practical ways. Financial security helps you feel truly good about the life you’ve provided for another.