To think people who say “money doesn’t buy happiness” have never had real money?

I think it refers to.. all the poor people I see with big smiles on their faces, knowing what’s important.. and then all the wealthy people who look miserable and have mental health problems etc. But money does buy security and removes that particular worry about paying bills etc.

It reminds me of all the lottery winners who were in happy marriages and then all divorced after winning. Something about having a simpler life and having a bit of struggle together is bonding.. Then the money makes them materialistic and full of themselves.

Some of life’s burdens can not be eased by giving someone money.

Money clearly doesn’t buy happiness or they’d be no unhappy rich people, which is patently not the case. Money does relive some of life’s stresses and worries though, and can buy enjoyable experiences.

It can improve your life in many ways but of course it can't buy you happiness.

Rich people experience bereavement , illness, tragic accidents, heartbreak, infertility, infidelity, loneliness, etc etc.

Many of the hardest things in life can happen to any person. Unless you think you can pay your way out of having human feelings.

Go and read the sad, sad stories in Elderly Parents then tell me all they need is money. Being poor is just one way to be miserable.

I think it's a mix, you certainly can have to little money and struggling when the kids where little wasn't fun. We now have enough to not worry about bills and do a few nice things.

But most people who have won the lottery have ended up penniless not to many years later and not happy. So I do think there is such a thing as to much money.

I agree with the poster who said, money doesn't buy you happiness but it helps.

Statistically, good and bad things befall every single person equally. A traumatic childhood, complex family dynamics, MH issues, neurodivergence, serious health problems, infertility, addiction, abusive relationships etc are terrible things to go through and obviously have nothing to do with money. Nobody wants to switch places with someone diagnosed with cancer, regardless of how many millions they have.

However the odd thing about these "money can't buy happiness" people is that they have a cognitive dissonance that bad things can (and do) happen to poor people as well. Whatever terrible life tragedy they trot out as an example of how money can't by happiness, chances are identical that it will happen to someone who's also poor. All things being even, it's much better to have money than not.

What money buys is a massively elevated baseline of human experience. Every person is only here for a lifetime and the world has far more things to offer than anyone could possibly experience in the time they're on this planet. You have a few decades to build a career, meet a partner, have children and create a home. That's already a massive undertaking. However if you factor in how many years of life go into saving and scrimping so you can have one enjoyable experience, then it's much better to have an unlimited source of wealth.

Is it really "fun" to save up for 5 years to afford a single holiday? It's noble, no doubt, but in the end the only person living that life is yourself. If you had unlimited money you could take 5 luxury holidays every year if you wanted. You can see and experience new things every few months and give your children the same life. You could stop working completely and pursue things that relax you or interest you. The reason most wealthy women are skinny is that they literally have more time to focus on being thin. They aren't juggling a million things at once and comfort eating at night. It's much easier to become the person you've always wanted to be with enough money. Money essentially gives you the potential to become the best possible version of yourself in this single lifetime. It doesn't protect you from tragedies but neither does being poor.

Money doesn’t bring happiness, if you are miserable with your life, money won’t make you happy. But if you are happy, money can make you happier. It causes less stress and makes life more comfortable.

The people I have always heard say this are those who have never suffered from the lack of it. They thinks its immaterial becuase they have never had to worry about it presence in their bank accounts, so they don't have immeditate worries like, how do they pay their bills this month? Will they have rent? Can they afford to pay rent and eat. No, they are free to worry about the existential stuff that money cannot affect, so they think they are on a par with people who are genuinly poor, that they have the same problems. They haven't got a clue.

Money buys time and the relief of labor in many forms. Time and leisure is happiness.

people who say money doesn’t buy happiness are either incapable of being happy or have never had the opportunity to exchange money to ease life’s burdens.

I think we quickly habituate to however much wealth we have. So 4 foreign holidays a year become the norm. Nice cars. Nice clothes. You don't get the thrill out of them that you do if you don't have money.

And there are problems that money can't solve like relationship problems and health problems, although they are probably easier to weather with money.

Maybe they never had real money but they've always had enough in my view. They obviously never skipped meals because they can't afford to eat, worried about losing their home or struggled to stay warm.

Or Trump.

Ime this is said by people of the previous generation or the well-supported who have financial safety nets - those who’ve never had to worry about how to pay the rent or where the next meal is coming from. Money buys security, comfort and opportunity. People who have struggled know its virtue.

Elon Musk doesn’t seem very happy

Maybe money doesn't buy happiness. But it would sure help alot & give me choices.

Better to sob your heart out in an Aston Martin than in a Toyota Corolla.

Being really skint sucks the joy out of many things, because the first question is always 'can we afford it?' Then there's the constant nagging worry that car that is essential to get someone to work will dramatically fail its MOT, or that the boiler will up and die.

But I think beyond a certain point, it doesn't make much difference. Once you can live comfortably, do some fun things and save for a rainy day, increasing wealth doesn't make a big difference to your levels of happiness. I've known very wealthy people in good physical health with loving families be utterly miserable.

I've never heard people who struggle for money say that money doesn't buy happiness. I've only heard it from people who are well off or at least financially comfortable and clearly don't realise how very miserable it is to not have money.

People often say it to mean "an excess of wealth won't make you happier" which is probably true at a certain point, but realistically struggling for money, worrying about bills or if you've got enough food to last until pay day is so stressful and miserable that no-one who has experienced it could say that more money would not have helped their mood.

Back in the 60s there was a television play based on a true story about a lady who won the football pools and she blew through it very quickly. She had struggled a lot with life before it happened and was struggling again afterwards. .it did showed that being very rich doesn't neccessarily make you happy.

That said, having enough money to meet your needs and enough left over for a few luxuries does help a lot in many ways. Being financially secure. Sometime those who say money doesn't buy you happiness have never really been without it to a severe degree. I remember a pastor once saying "if you have just one pound in your bank account right now you are richer than many in the developing world." I see what he was trying to do and it came from a good place, he is factually correct. But at the time I was thinking "what if you only have that pound and it's two weeks left until payday and you've run out of sufficient food or heating?" Because sometimes that does happen even in the UK.

Thing is, the Goldsmiths didn't have to go into work the next week.
Lots of people have jobs where you only get a few days bereavement leave, and then after that you could sign off sick, but you might only get SSP which won't cover your bills. So whilst bereaved families might be equally unhappy, some of them are still having to do whatever is necessary to pay the rent and feed everyone. I went into work the day after my father died, but I don't think I could if it was a child. What on earth do you do then? The stress added to the grief must add to the total sum of unhappiness.

I've said this before but I just don't get at all inspired by the suffering and struggles of other people. I'm very cynical about romanticising struggle.

This is normally used by the rich(er) to morally justify their greater wealth than the 'plebs' beneath them. Poor people aren't trying to 'justify' their poverty, quite the opposite...

It’s all in the framing.

Money is the problematic word in the sentence. Access to sufficient resources in the wider sense, not just money, do help.

Feeling that what one has is sufficient is important when it comes to happiness. Sufficient relates to Maslows hierarchy of needs.

I read posts on here from posters on high six figure salaries who are stressed and struggling, and people who live well on little.

Being rich has many advantages, would rather be rich than poor , but both happiness , sadness and bad health can find anyone regardless of money