Does money make people happy?

How many times have you heard the saying ' money cant buy happiness ' ? Maybe not the best site to get opinions but I love to hear peoples thoughts anyway.

Can money buy you happiness?

Quote: WatchMeWin

Can money buy you happiness?

well, that's just it, you can't buy things like that, but it is also hard to be happy without money.

How do you have a successful marriage if there are money problems?

Would you be able to be happy if you had no money for retirement?

The answers can be 'yes' ... without going into how that might be, I think it is easy to conclude for most of us that money is going to have to be part of the picture.

Quote: WatchMeWin

How many times have you heard the saying ' money cant buy happiness ' ? Maybe not the best site to get opinions but I love to hear peoples thoughts anyway.

Can money buy you happiness?

No, happiness is a state of mind. I know some "rich" people who are the most miserable people you ever want to meet. I've seen "broke" people who have no cares in the world.

While most people want the "big paycheck" they do not want the responsibility that comes with it. The owner of the company or the VP can rarely truly unwind as the call that something at the factroy broke; the delivery guy wrecked his truck; whatever always seem to come. And when you are rich everyone wants a piece of you, from the worker who wants a tip to the politician who calls your kind "greedy."

There was a show (scripted, not reality) called "The Millionare" where they gave people money and watched their lives tear apart.

Would I like a load cash, sure. But I will still wake up with all the other life issues I have the next morning and put my pants on one leg at a time.

Only difference is instead of going to work after I put them on I would go to the poker room...............

Money does not buy happiness. It only buys things.

Many people define "happy" differently.

Materialistic people define happiness by the number and type of things they own. For them, yes, money / things makes them happy.

Spiritualistic people define happiness by the relationships they have with their family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. For them, no amount of money will change their happiness.

That's oversimplifying things, but, now you gotta decide if you're materialistic, spiritual, somewhere in-between, or whatever. Then you'll know the answer to the question.

Money can buy a lot of freedom; and freedom makes me happy. Some people use money to buy less freedom.

They say that's money
Can't buy love in this world
But it'll get you a half-pound of cocaine
And a sixteen-year old girl
And a great big long limousine
On a hot September night
Now that may not be love But it is all right

--Randy Newman


And no, money probably won't make me happy, but I'm willing to give it a chance to.

A wiser man than me once said that the only problem having a lot of money truly solves is that you don't have to worry about having a lot of money, and that's only if you aren't stupid with it, which of course is not something you can buy. I think money is a tool, and how it helps or hurts you depends on you more than the money. If you're happy without money, you'll probably be happy with it, and vice versa.

Quote: WatchMeWin

Can money buy you happiness?

Lack of it sure as hell doesn't.

A rule of thumb I like is: happiness=log(money).

From Married with Children:
Al: Bud, what is more important, love or money?
Bud: Dad, money, of course. With money you can always buy love.

Quote: WatchMeWin

Can money buy you happiness?

No, but I hear it can rent it.

My all time favorite saying is, "Money may not buy happiness, but it dang sure will buy everything else." Amen to that...

Quote: FleaStiff

No, but I hear it can rent it.

I think that saying is actually true. Getting additional money will give you temporary happiness. But it fades quicker than other things that make you happy.

I have some money, and it has contributed substantially to my feeling contentment / happiness with my life.

Of course, it all depends on your values, your point of view, your philosophy, your social relationships, your accomplishments / successes ...

One has to be happy within themselves first and foremost. If you dont know how to be happy without money, it probably wont work with it. That is what I tell everyone anyway. lol The truth is people rationalize too much. The ones that say money cant make people happy are usually the ones that dont have money and want it so frikin badly.

I think Ive always been a happy guy through life. I can tell you this. When I didn't have money I certainly wasnt as happy as when I did have it. Yes, money makes me happy... very happy. lol Its not the money I love, its the things money can buy that make me happy. Its even more beautiful when you make money on your own and achieve goals. That is satisfaction. Those who inherit money and havent got a clue of what to do with it, they are lost.

Can money buy love? Most cases yes. Horrible to say but it is true. Ive seen more couples fall out of love due to financial stress as opposed to couples who are having a ball and enjoying life together because the have the means to do so.

Happiness is a life choice. You choose to be happy or unhappy. If you fall into the trap of 'I could be happy if only .............' you only will only find another 'if only' if you solve one. I don't advocate this philosophy as a cop out not to work hard or care about things but enjoy life you only get 1 (maybe).

"It's no shame to be poor. But it is no great honor, either."

From Fiddler on the Roof.

I've always felt that money buys unhappiness. Years ago, someone told me that the stock market always makes people feel bad. If they buy a stock, and it goes up, they wish they had bought more of the stock. If it goes down, they wish they hadn't bought it at all. A similar analogy holds for gambling. On a winning bet, a person wishes they had bet more. On a losing bet, they wish they had bet less, or not at all.

My mom constantly complains about the price of gas. She complains about the cost of electricity and what it takes to air condition the house when it gets hot. My customers complain about the prices I charge.

If you have no money, you certainly can't buy happiness. But you also can't buy unhappiness. That's not to say that you won't be unhappy without any money. But at the same time, with no money, you won't be buying all the things that everybody else seems to complain about that makes them unhappy.

Quote: WatchMeWin

Can money buy you happiness?

I don't think money can BUY happiness, but I do know people who get temporary happiness from buying things. My grandmother and my father are both hoarders. I know that they love to buy and possess things, but it's like they've never realized that it's just a temporary fix and that they have to keep going out and getting something new to fill their insatiable desires. It reminds me of that test they did on rats. I could be wrong with the details, but the one where the water bottle was spiked with cocaine and the rat just kept going back and back and back for more.

Me, I'm on the other side of the spectrum in regards to stuff. I am constantly trying to find ways to get rid of stuff I have. I like my home to be simplistic, kind of like a hotel room. Clean, neat, attractive, and with just the basics. Maybe cuz I grew up in my dad's house which was cluttered and full of chaos. I remember getting in trouble with a stepmother of mine when she caught me throwing what I considered "junk" out that belonged to my father.

Quote: AZDuffman

No, happiness is a state of mind. I know some "rich" people who are the most miserable people you ever want to meet. I've seen "broke" people who have no cares in the world.

I do agree that happiness is completely a state of mind. You know the saying ignorance is bliss? Imagine a person who somehow thinks they have money in the bank but really doesn't. They could be happy and not even know that they're actually broke. Since I do believe that happiness is and always will be a state of mind, I find that I have a long way to go mentally to mature to this state of mind. I know it is only true, yet I find myself struggling with this concept.

I recently, and for a very short period of time, dated a guy who is having financial problems. Lord only knows why I was with this guy, but something I did notice is that he was in a very negative state of mind. "The banks are all broke", "America is going to hell in a handbasket", "This world is falling apart", blah blah blah. The reason I mention this is a lot of times I do believe that there is a strong correlation between MENTAL state of mind and wealth. And I'm not talking about gaining an inheritance or winning the lottery, but can one actually achieve wealth if they're not in the right state of mind?

Quote: pacomartin

Money can buy a lot of freedom; and freedom makes me happy.

For me the #1 thing I want money for is freedom. And not just freedom to BUY whatever I want or go wherever I want (although I have a long list of places I'd like to travel to and see and experience). I am constantly thinking about all of the things that I want to do with my life. I want the freedom of time. And there are TONS of things. After watching the documentary "The Secret" I made 3 dreamboards which I still have in my bedroom closet. I have been depressed lately cuz I'm trying to figure out how I can obtain enough money in order for me to just not work and pursue all of my goals in life. It's practically impossible short of marrying a really super, super rich guy, and that makes me sad.

Quote: odiousgambit

How do you have a successful marriage if there are money problems?
Would you be able to be happy if you had no money for retirement?

They do say that the number one reason marriages fall apart is over money issues. That's probably a good reason not to marry a poor guy, it's like a double-edged sword! And my mother is 60 years old, has NO money in retirement whatsoever. She's broke, as she has been all her life, and she's miserable. She seems to think the government is going to take care of her. I think she's never taken responsibility for her life.

So, in a nutshell (lol)... I don't think money can make someone happy, but having been in a place of having money in my life on two short occasions, I find that it did make my life feel a lot easier during those times. It gave me not only a sense of freedom but also a sense of security (which is important for women) and even a sense of power.

Quote: HotBlonde

For me the #1 thing I want money for is freedom. And not just freedom to BUY whatever I want or go wherever I want (although I have a long list of places I'd like to travel to and see and experience). I am constantly thinking about all of the things that I want to do with my life. I want the freedom of time.

I feel like the secret of happiness is being able to afford the things you want to do. That doesn't necessarily mean that money can buy happiness. It just means that it allows you the ability to seek out the happiness. The thing is, we all have something we like to do, or something we like to collect or whatever. For some of us, it may be gambling. For others, it may be collecting Faberge eggs. The point is, we're happy when we're able to do those things. If you like to travel like me, then you need the money not only for the traveling, but to allow you the time to travel. Thre freedom of time, as you mention.

Money might be the number one cause of marital stress, but only if both parties have a very different view on how to manage and spend it. If your economic out looks are different, how can you expect a union of two economies to work? If both parties are thrifty and low budget, I don't think that money will be a cause of fights... Same way that if one person is an easier spender, even if rich, it'll cause stress.

If someone understands how the world works and spends the money wisely, then money can absolutely buy happiness.

A person's personality and what the person values also determines whether money can buy happiness.

It certainly doesn't buy everyone happiness.

The short answer is that it depends on the person.

I already know that money would increase my happiness exponentially.

I don't mean to sound cryptic, but I wanted to keep it simple.