Does money buy happiness?

As someone young who has done very well for myself and has way more money than the average person my age this is what I'll say.

No money doesn't by happiness, if you're an unhappy person in general money isn't going to change that. Money does buy a sense of security. It's very comforting to know that I'm going to come home to my home each night and that I have the security that if I lost my job tomorrow I don't have to worry about paying the mortgage. Obviously anything significant enough could put a hurt on me but there is very little that worries me about my ability to ever put food on the table.

Having the extra money does bring on other stresses such as where to invest and managing my assets. I know, I know first class problems. All in all, I think it's way better to have the money than be scrapping to survive. But I also grew up in a fairly well off family where I was taught to live well below my means and not flaunt our economic status. I was fortunate enough to leave college without debt thanks to this but at that point I had to stand on my own to legs without handouts from the parents. So I feel like since I've built my own financial situation I take more pride in where I'm at. Studies show that money inherited or gifted does not bring the same level of happiness as money earned.

One less thing to worry about.

Have money.. wrote:

You think? wrote:

First off, you sound really miserable right now. What makes you so sure you will be happy by the time you retire? You give off a lot of mixed signals. For an example..I bold quoted the above which doesn’t make sense, please explain.

Not sure what explanation you’re looking for that I haven’t given. I am f’ing miserable. No secret there. What you bolded is inconsequential. I have more money than I have wants. Nothing to report there. What I know is the day I don’t have to worry about my job is the day that I’m perfectly content and happy with my life. That will be about eight years from now. I’m not sure how to be more clear about this.

Ummm...dude please don’t counter what I bolded on your statement about...”I have anything I want, which isn’t much”......can I say? Oh yawn, please stop the pity party of...I make so much money I don’t know what the hell to do with it all...? money means SO much me to right now that I can’t think straight to give a mature response onthis board...rolls the eye to the point I’m blind.?

Does money buy happiness?? DOES MONEY BUY HAPPINESS???

I don't know. But I found a couple of dollars, and I was able to get coffee at Dunkin Donuts. I was happy.

I found a fiver and had twice as much coffee at Dunkin Donuts. Man, was I happy.

I found a tenspot and spent it on coffee at Dunkin Donuts. Man, did I have to piss. I wasn't happy, because the bathroom there was so disgusting.

But you can't get into the "show" if you don't have the "dough."

We are judged in life by our financial status.

The super wealthy control this country.

And a Billionaire holds the highest Office in this Country.

You may know me -- I'm Claude Monet, that wunderkind French Impressionist painter. I was never happy. Just slopping oil paints onto canvas in Gay Paree, and disgusted, because I hated this genre. (Ooh, la la, I just had to use that French word, "genre".) But it paid the bills. I saved and saved, and I was able to put a downpayment on happiness. I feel like a million Euros now!

So Monet does buy happiness.

Rich-ard wrote:

Does money buy happiness?? DOES MONEY BUY HAPPINESS???

I don't know. But I found a couple of dollars, and I was able to get coffee at Dunkin Donuts. I was happy.

I found a fiver and had twice as much coffee at Dunkin Donuts. Man, was I happy.

I found a tenspot and spent it on coffee at Dunkin Donuts. Man, did I have to piss. I wasn't happy, because the bathroom there was so disgusting.

Underrated and profound post

But it can buy me a boat wrote:

A lot of self made wealthy people on here. Of those, are you happier now or when you had to grind to get to the top? Or was the grind and watching your wealth grow the fun part and now that the chase is over it’s rather anticlimactic?

It’s not about being on top. We call it wealth accumulation,having money saved to live the type of lifestyle you want to live. You spend along the way with the ultimate goal of sliding into your grave full tilt after a life well lived and your last buck spent.

Take some risk,think big,never go ugly,drive fast cars,drink good wine and you will have done well.

Money may not buy happiness, but it damn sure helps.

[quote]Lets Tell It Like It Is wrote:

But you can't get into the "show" if you don't have the "dough."

We are judged in life by our financial status.

The super wealthy control this country.

And a Billionaire holds the highest Office in this Country.[/quote

I ain't complaining, I've done a lot with my power, banged a lot of broads and have enough money for good lawyers, like Cosby, so I'll never go to prison. Party on. I'll be back on top, so to speak.

Helps to be a sociopath.

There are a lot of confounding things here with ‘happiness’.

Distinguishing between pleasure and the deeper sense of satisfaction/contentment is useful for thinking through the impact of money.

Things like a sense of purpose in life (eg feeling like you’re contributing to society) and having meaningful relationships with people are strongly tied to contentment... things related to social status and prestige are too.

Reducing the measurement/causality of well-being to a single measure like money/wealth is a bit too reductionist... things that give you a since of social status, purpose in life, and a sense of meaningful work are often pretty well compensated. The widely reported 75k number could easily be reached by most professional jobs (while its not clear if this number is for household or individual, even many teachers and nurses could reach this income). So they get all of that deeper satisfaction and then have enough $ to avoid displeasure and indulge from time to time.

That being said, I think the influence of money tends to be on a relative basis and not absolute ( ie the sense of doing well for yourself... better than most). Plenty of people that are poor , in absolute terms, are happy (I’ve seen places like Nepal reported as the happiest country for instance), and there are many rural areas known for their happiness and long life expectancy ( the ‘blue zones’).

On top of all these variables, you have personal biological constraints that set our potential for happiness/unhappiness.

I'd be happy to argue with you, but I don't understand your post. Looking back my message seems fairly clear whether you like it or not.

Money can not buy happiness

A_Peterson6262 wrote:

Money can not buy happiness

Agreed!

Fast forward and listen from 1:30-2:00

You can decide to be happy or not by doing anything. Or having any income. Some of us work for a living so we can live. And yet we don't. Life is all about experiences and I've been the happiest when I have had great experiences. That could be taking my daughter to Paris as a surprise for her graduation to just sitting with my wife having a cup of coffee in the morning.

For many of us, work sucks and wish we could just quit and our lives would instantly turn around. I just don't think that's totally true. While we do pretty well, I can say not having to stress over losing the house, should one of lose our job, to being able to buy most things we want is certainly nice. One thing you can't do is tie your self worth up into how much you make. Then it's all about the buck and most of the people I know like that are a$$holes. Sure they run the company, but they are never happy in my experience.

So I guess my advice is to not be beholden to the dollar, try to have fun experiences. Sure it takes a little money to not have worries but happiness does not depend on it.

I know many wealthy people and some are incredibly happy, while others are incredibly miserable. The common denominators in the happy people are:

1. Good relationships

2. Doing work they enjoy

3. Upward mobility (they are improving, being promoted, making more money, accomplishing goals)

The unhappy wealthy people I know share these common denominators:

1. Divorces/bad family relationships

2. Hate their jobs

3. Downward mobility (ie: an investment gone wrong and now they are worth 10 million instead of 25 million. Still a life many would aspire to have, but like what someone said above, people normalize things quickly. It’s very hard to go backwards and it happens to a lot of people, rich or poor)

But it can buy me a boat wrote:

A lot of self made wealthy people on here. Of those, are you happier now or when you had to grind to get to the top? Or was the grind and watching your wealth grow the fun part and now that the chase is over it’s rather anticlimactic?

I don’t think money can buy happiness but it can help you sidestep some of life’s stresses. Just being able to buy groceries or put gas in your car without worrying about the price is something not everyone can do. So while anyone can be happy I suppose your chances are a little better as you climb the socioeconomic ladder at least to an extent. Being able to afford things like nice cars and houses as well as expanded social and professional opportunities are other benefits of making it to the middle class. However, none of these things guarantee happiness— you still have to define and pursue it. Relationships with others, accomplishing things (athletically, professionally, intellectually, etc.) and opportunities to be creative and adventurous are things that give me a feeling of fulfillment. That said, I can’t speak to being very wealthy. Perhaps with enough money happiness is easier to attain. Or perhaps you can distract yourself with enough pleasurable entertainment that happiness is a concept you don’t consider much.