Does Money Buy Happiness?

S

SifuPhil

R.I.P. With Us In Spirit Only
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
It's been said for all of recorded history that money can't buy you happiness.

Is this true?

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Does it mean you can only rent it? Or is it a totally wrong assumption?

Or something in-between?
 

Money can buy some physical comfort , vacations, etc. Sometimes physical comfort and vacations can make you happier, but won't change your basic instincts or character traits or how well you bounce. Cash won't change your negativity/positive traits.
 
Well I mean look at the Kennedys, Gloria Vanderbilt, any number of tabloid rich kids and old folks too...Howard Hughes and Michael Jackson. More money and fame than they possibly needed and they were miserable in their own monsters. Money doesn't guarantee happiness if your health blows, you have family drama, somebody writes a book or starts a lawsuit. I mean it beats a cardboard box and bumming change, but money certainly doesn't mean you will ultimately be happy.
 

I think money will buy you peace of mind. I am lucky to say I am living comfortably but worry endlessly about health insurance costs and medical bills. I have seen it wipe people out who had much more than I could ever imagine. Not to worry about that would be wonderful.
 
Yup it can to a certain extent...certainly it can buy you the things that you personally deem to be pleasurable or important for your own personal happiness ergo something that makes you happy, whether that's material things, holidays, experiences, nice houses in safe surroundings. a certain lifestyle not afforded by the poor ...it may even buy you health in certain circumstances compared to someone who can't afford much needed medical care. It can even buy you 'love'...as proved by the many wealthy octogenarians with nubile younger partners..

Conversely it doesn't follow that if you have little or no money you would necessarily be unhappy!!..again depending on your need for any of the above...some people are happy in whatever life throws at them, and may not have a penny to scratch their arse with ...particularly if they have the support of those who love them, family, friends..etc, and they enjoy life for what they have ( or don't as the case may be)!!

That said, there things money can never buy...and I'm sure many of the super rich would give everything they have if it meant a cure for a terminal illness, or if it could bring back a loved one to them...

I can tell you this tho' ..as probably most on here can...I've been dirt poor in my life and I've been the opposite , and the former would never be my choice for lasting happiness. ...so I hope and pray to God that I never find myself ever again in the dark valleys of poverty...!!
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
I think money will buy you peace of mind. I am lucky to say I am living comfortably but worry endlessly about health insurance costs and medical bills. I have seen it wipe people out who had much more than I could ever imagine. Not to worry about that would be wonderful.
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You could always relocate here to the UK Ruth...all your worries about losing everything because of potential medical bills would be gone in a heartbeat..our healthcare is free...to all.!!:D
 
Geez. I dunno. I've been as poor as the proverbial church mouse and have been more than well off (but hardly rich). Maybe somebody would be willing to give me a million or so to use as a down payment?

After a trial period of about six months, I'll turn in a full report. Deal?
 
I have been poor and it really sucks. I prefer having money. I'm enjoying getting old more than I'd ever imagined when I was a young adult. Not First Class and rarely 5 stars, but very enjoyable.
 
Of course it depends on how you define happiness ---if it means the absence of misery and suffering and a feel good kind of euphoria or experiences --- I'd say that it can certainly buy happiness, if temporary, which is the only kind we're going to get anyway, considering our constantly fluctuating mind states, rich or poor.

Happiness might be there one day, and gone the next. Nevertheless, I'll take the money any day and be content with whatever happiness it provides.
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
I think money will buy you peace of mind. I am lucky to say I am living comfortably but worry endlessly about health insurance costs and medical bills. I have seen it wipe people out who had much more than I could ever imagine. Not to worry about that would be wonderful.
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I relate to your post about health insurance. I found myself with no insurance and in the hospital 21/2 years ago and the resulting bill knocked a dent in our savings. This needs to change for all Americans.

As far as money buying actual happiness..in some ways it does. It makes me happy to live in a decent house and pay all my bills each month with enough left over to save or spend as I choose. I have always worked and retirement is like the frosting on the cake:) I tell people retirement isn't retirement from life....it's a new lifestyle is all.
 
I guess I'm saying that money can make you comfortable but not necessarily happy. If you have a critical illness you can get the best drugs and best healthcare...but if your head isn't right all the money in the world can fix it. Look at poor Robin Williams, all the reasons to be happy, and still depressed and facing devastating illness. I've got my pups, a big old house falling apart and a bunch of stuff on my plate but I'm still happy most of the time ya know? It isn't about money sometimes...it's appreciating the day to day. But give me the magic Power Ball ticket...abandon this house for something small, ALL the books on my Barnes and Noble wish list, and then working for a non-profit...simple.
 
I never had a lot of money, but from all I see around me, I'm a lot happier than some of the rich folks. Look at all the celebrities who are rolling in money, and take their own lives due to sadness and depression. As long as you have a roof over your head, food in your belly, a special person who loves you and you're in pretty good health, I'd say you're wealthier than many.


 
"Does Money Buy Happiness?"

No, obviously not. Money buys the things which provide happiness, so long as it is spent well. Don't "cross" a spouse, don't spend in favor of your own family's side, don't indulge yourself, DO occasionally buy your spouse something monumental, and yer gonna be OK. Spoken by a male chauvinist pig. But, still true. imp
 
Yes it does. I've been on both sides of the equation in my lifetime and it's definitely a happier state of affairs to be wealthy than it is to be poor. My friend battling cancer is extremely wealthy and she always tells me how grateful she is to financially well off, and believes it has bought her a longer life, which it has.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I never had a lot of money, but from all I see around me, I'm a lot happier than some of the rich folks. Look at all the celebrities who are rolling in money, and take their own lives due to sadness and depression. As long as you have a roof over your head, food in your belly, a special person who loves you and you're in pretty good health, I'd say you're wealthier than many.


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Truth spoken here.
 
I wouldn't be very happy if we were struggling financially, but of course money isn't the be all and end all of existence, other things are important too.
 
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I've never been wealthy and can't say I've ever been really poor. I've been fortunate in my life to have had reasonably good health, acquired the skills necessary for me to succeed at a job that paid me pretty well. All that has enabled me to retire at an earlier age than many of my peers. When I met with the financial planner recently and looked at the numbers, I felt more satisfaction than happiness. The modest "wealth" my wife and I have saved for our retirement will surely make us happy, but only if our health is there and we find new passions in this next stage of our lives. It's up to us to make our happiness. The money can be a means towards that end, but it's on us to make our own happiness. As others have said before, the money may not buy happiness, but it sure beats the alternative.
 

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