Money does make you happy

[ThighMan]

http://working.canada.com/resources/story.html?id=ecf94bb0-320a-4704-a81e-4e174fffb4e9

While it remains the subject of debate whether money can truly buy happiness, a survey of job satisfaction found those at the top of the pay scale - chief executives and chief financial officers, presidents and the like - were most happy with their professional lot in life.

So, what does everyone out there think. Can money truly buy happiness?

 

[LonelyGhost]

i think a lot has to do with how you got the money ...

i know a couple people who have more money than they could
spend in their lifetimes, but because they came from 'dirt poor'
and worked to earn and accumulate it, they WORRY about
every frickin' penny they have ...

they don't seem to enjoy it.

other people who were 'born to it' seem to have a less
obsessive view of it.

but I think that Maslow was right in his Hierarchy of Needs:

once you have 'enough' money you will just have something
else that becomes a 'need'.

 

[georgebushmoron]

but I think that Maslow was right in his Hierarchy of Needs:

once you have 'enough' money you will just have something
else that becomes a 'need'.

That was brilliant! A damned good post.

Money does make you happy. Money buys freedom of choice, and money is power. I've never known anyone to turn down freedom nor power when it was given to them all things being equal no strings attached.

 

[DaYayo]

"money can't buy me happiness but i'm happiest when i can buy what i want, anytime that i want, and get high when i want" Jelleestone

i am forever locked into inner struggles with cash and my opinions of it.. it is the cause of most of humankinds problems.. i figure it must be the root of all evil considering what people will do for cash (we have all seen someone hit rock bottom from the struggles).. but despite all this i still love cash and the power it can provide.. in this consumer based society money will always be the main goal outweighing all others (otherwise you lose at life and your homeless and hungry).. im not sure there is a solution i think it is a battle of mankind vs consumerism.. and i dont see consumerism losing anytime soon.. there is no limit to excess, the more money you have the more extravagant your spending will become..

 

[twoblues]

Yes it does. Money buys peace of mind from money issues. Without having money issues, then you can go about finding happiness. Maybe money doesn't buy happiness, but it can certainly lead to happiness.

 

[curmudgeon]

I can't remember who the quote comes from. I think it was a pro athelete.

"Well I been rich. And I been poor. I like rich better."

 

[Man Mountain]

I don't think money can "buy" true happiness but it can sure help you rent a lot more happy moments.

 

[Enchanted One]

More Options

I know someone who comes from a middle class background & became
a self made millionaire by the time he was in his mid 20's. I asked him
that classic question, "Does having more money make you happy?".

He paused for a moment & told me no. But it gives you more options in
life. More options is good in my book!

 

[wolverine]

If I win the lottery tomorrow, I'd quit work and keep myself knee-deep in glorious pussy until my pecker falls off. Does that answer the question?

 

[Steve Ray]

"When I was young I used to think that wealth and power would bring me happiness. I was right."
- Gahan Wilson

 

[citylover]

You can buy decent housing, decent health care, decent food w/money .

You can't w/o it.

Those things can form the basis for happiness.

It's the megarich/woe is me/professional victims who think they can't get happiness w/ money. Anyone w/o it knows they can.

 

[alyb]

Can, but doesn't...

Money can't buy happiness. Its impossible, because happiness is different things to different people. Its a concept that we own, create, evaluate, and change... over days, sometimes months, even over years.

For example, I grew up extremely poor and have been until I became an SP. I was raised needing clothes I didn't have, not seeing the doctor when I shouldve (from the States, didn't always have health coverage..) Of course I was unhappy when my friends wanted to see a movie and I couldn't go because mom couldn't even buy meat for dinner. (We ate a LOT of pasta.) But, on the bright side, I learned how to be happy. Not fake happy, TRULY happy.

So I think being poor can easily lead to temporary feelings of unhappiness because of the restrictions, but now that I'm an SP I sort of notice that even when I have money, it doesn't change anything. I still don't believe in excessive materialism. I put what money I make into school, and the downpayment on a modest home I'll be purchasing in a year or so. If I have a great week where I get a nice, long appointment, I've even been known to throw a hundred or so towards a charity I respect.

Sorry guys, I don't buy myself a lot of girly shoes and all that junk. Why? Because I know better. I know its all just a fad, and I sure as heck can't take it with me when I die.

I say if money controls your life, and its all you want, then look at the fact that half of the children in this world are going to bed tonight without a thing in their stomachs. It really makes me sick even thinking about it. I know what it was like to go to the grocery store when I had my daughter, as an immgrant, with only $8 in my bank account wondering how I'd buy a pack of $12 diapers (the cheap ones, on sale mind you.) I've had to put my hand out more than once in this life, but I also had some of my happiest moments staring into her eyes knowing I wouldn't trade places with some Hollywood mom letting the nanny do all the work.

Thats just life... and sometimes we need to be a little less shallow, and a little more happy and appreciative of health, and all of the wonderful things we have. Thats just my .02 cents.

 

[sdw]

http://working.canada.com/resources/story.html?id=ecf94bb0-320a-4704-a81e-4e174fffb4e9



So, what does everyone out there think. Can money truly buy happiness?

The quoted story has the answer in the second paragraph. The people were happy once they were earning 108K per year.

Anyone who tells you that they are happy on less than 25K a year is lying through their rotting, uncared for teeth.

Once a person is around 50K, they can cover all the things they really need, it's just the holidays in Mexico, Hawaii or the Bahamas that aren't quite in easy reach.

After 100K, it takes determination to be unhappy.

 

[Sir_frixalot]

Recipe for LIFE:

Be a kid and goto school for 20 years,
Work HARD for 20 years [from 20-40 you can work and play easily, but always WORK first]
At 40, work lightly, play & take it easy for the rest of your days - who cares about money...? You can always make 'enough' money in our free society.

At 40, get interested in politics to keep it that way - stand up for the work ethic - for everybody who works HARD, NO free rides, NO fuckin excuses. If you WORK for your money, you appreciate it and you will learn to be OK. If you are given too much money for nothing, it fucks up you, your life and you will hate it (and the dependancy on it)... Guaranteed..!

Even cripples and retards ('cept the really unlucky vegged out ones) these days can work and make a living, or at least part of it. If you can move a mouse you can earn a good buck... Socialism by proxy SUCKS, it is against human nature, robs people of their self esteem, and benefits no-one...

 

[Mr.O]

They actually...

http://working.canada.com/resources/story.html?id=ecf94bb0-320a-4704-a81e-4e174fffb4e9



So, what does everyone out there think. Can money truly buy happiness?

... needed to do a study to find that out??

 

[ThighMan]

After 100K, it takes determination to be unhappy.

I know that I am happy. I wonder how many others fit into this catagory (+100K) and can truely say that they are happy?

 

[sdw]

I know that I am happy. I wonder how many others fit into this catagory (+100K) and can truely say that they are happy?

It depends on if you are unhappy because you are incapable of being happy in which case you'll never be happy OR if you are unhappy because you allow people who WANT to be in your life.

I believe that anyone who is earning a 100K or more has achieved all the things we are taught that we want:

Top of profession
Top of income curve
Ability to purchase anything with a little planning
Ability to schedule own retirement
Ability to support their loved ones

If that person can't be happy and it's because of their own desires, they should seek assistance with adjusting goals to a reasonable level.

If that person can't be happy and it's because of somebody else's desires, they need to assess their need to have a perpetual damper in their life. If the somebody else can't see the path to more reasonable desires, perhaps you should allow your paths to diverge.

I can tell you that life doesn't get better after a person is multi in net worth. The only thing that changes after that is the size of the number.

The person who can't be happy with a 100K per year will never be happy unless they cure the problem.

 

[CinnamonGirl]

So, what does everyone out there ... just bought, I'm damn happy with myself! :)

 

[alyb]

i saw...

When I was in Mexico on a mission trip to help feed some of the poor, I saw kids who slept on cockroach infested mattresses, with only 2-3 outfits as their whole wardrobe, and they were happier than some of the little rich kid brats in this country. Why? Because they enjoyed family, friendship, and sunny days.

Money is not happiness. Happiness is happiness. People just think they need a lot of stuff. Think about it.

I would rather serve others. I just need "enough" to get by and take a break once in a while. Yeah, a little spending is fine, but I'd NEVER need even 50K to be happy.

 

[Cali Scott]

http://working.canada.com/resources/story.html?id=ecf94bb0-320a-4704-a81e-4e174fffb4e9

So, what does everyone out there think. Can money truly buy happiness?

I think that if you dig deeper, you'll see that those many of those who are "successful" carry a different mindset and attitude than many of those who are not. Their attitude is one of having goals and knowing that they'll attain them rather than wallowing in poorness and the seemingly inescapable situation they are in.

There are just as many miserable rich fucks are happy poor ones (maybe less). In a fairly recent poll I read somewhere do you know where the "happiest" people were? Nigeria; yes poooor Nigeria.