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

I generally find it’s mostly people that are , if not actually well off, then at least comfortable who say this.

Misery, illness, trauma, loss, bereavement also happen to everyone. While money can’t fix it, it can give you better chances/coping mechanisms/treatment and more often than not, the time and space to deal with those issues. While it can’t fix it , it can give you a fighting chance and opportunity.

Wealth can keep you alive, in so much as you are housed, fed, can have materialistic possessions, and not have to go through each 24 hour day as a grind, a chore, a desperate clinging onto health and life. But it doesn’t buy self esteem, respect, intelligence, etc….. Some of the richest people on Earth are thick, nasty, bigoted, unhappy, lacking direction, bored, willing to break the law to get the next “best thing”. That’s why you get very rich drunks, druggies, sex pests etc……. They have the wealth to pursue whatever vice they might want to try, will have people queueing up to be part of their “inner circle” hence the reason why rich men (and less well documented, rich women) can prey on the young and vulnerable, wannabes desperate to be part of the rich scene.

I would say the best kind of happiness, fulfilment possibly comes through having just enough, being wise and canny with your income, focussing on the important aspects of life such as making sure children are well cared for, sharing good times together, being able to ride through a few difficult times. Everyone wants a better life, for themselves, for their children, but contributing towards that achievement, being able to think, yes, I did that, I worked hard, I made the right decisions brings its own happiness. Real grinding poverty hardly seems to make life worth living, but wealth on a plate won’t always bring fulfilment. It might just kill you in a different way.

My take on this statement is
If your poor and struggling day to day- money certainly improves your level of happiness. Less time is spent worrying about utilities, if something unexpected crops up etc etc.

if your comfortable financially then to a degree no it doesnt buy happiness, yes you can buy XYZ or book an extra holiday however you don’t have to worry about utilities etc so its not improving your life on that front.

What money doesn’t buy is:
Time
Health
Family/ friends

I recently had this conversation with BIL who is very comfortable in their lives however is always seeking more, this means he is now looking at working abroad for X amounts of months per year leaving at home wife and kids. But ‘its money, its X amount/ month’ and is completely blinded by the money.

Wife currently doesn’t need to work as income is stable from BIL’s business, they have multiple foreign ‘big’ holidays per year, live in a lovely house, x2 newish cars and don’t struggle day to day. BIL works on average 3 days a week and spends the rest doing hobbies/ with family. Yet he thinks more money will improve his life - each to there own but i can’t see in these circumstances how his life will be improved it will tally up to about 2/3 year working away.

Its all well and good having the money however no time to spend it.

Money would enable me to get rid of my husband. (Seperated, still wrangling divorce and finances) I'd be infinitely happier.

So my eXH earns a six figure salary.

We had a big house, fancy holidays, I had expensive jewellery.

He was also emotionally abusive. Took naked pictures of me without my knowledge or permission, told me when we would be having sex and made sure it happened, moved me away from my support network, made sure I didn’t have friends and the list goes on.

I left him and became a single parent with a 10th of the income he has.

I’ve had money and I can categorically state that it doesn’t buy you happiness.

I agree that money can't buy happiness in many situations.

Having a massive mansion can be a millstone. Taking all your time to maintain. You might be happier in a small, manageable place.

Does having loads of possessions make you truly happy? I don't think it does beyond the necessities, hence people trying to declutter.

Does having the money to jet around the world but having no one to go with make you happier than a caravan in Norfolk with family who love to be together?

Or compensate for infertility?

I am much richer now than I was in my early 20s. But that's not why I'm happier now. I'm happier now because I have a loving DH and child and am secure within myself now. I wasn't really poor before, as in I didn't have to worry about the bills though.

I don't actually think many people would cope well with mega riches.

It's not that money buys happiness, it's that the lack of money can seriously make one unhappy.

Past a certain amount, there's no correlation between reported happiness levels and money.
But below that certain amount, the correlation is obvious.

I'm personally very happy, I earn good money but not millions, I don't have a big house, I don't have personnel, I don't go to holidays abroad six times a year, I don't buy designer's bags or shoes, but I earn enough and have enough savings so I'm not worried if my washing machine breaks, if I need to buy a plane ticket on a short notice, if I need to stomach a big bill etc...

It's being carefree with money that contributes to my general wellbeing.
I could earn the same money but have massive debt, or lead a too expensive lifestyle that leaves me frustrated, that would be different.

Totally agree.

I dont know..
Not worrying about money mahes life easier but I have been in an unhappy home with lots of money and a happy home without two beans

Money buys contentment.

Mike Lynch springs to mind

True, but poverty and poor health also go hand in hand and if youndo have poor health, money might not be able to fix you, but it enables you to get better care and facilities/help to deal with it.

I've only ever heard rich people saying it. A poor person wouldn't know, would they?

Money makes life easier in many ways. But there's plenty of depressed millionaires knocking about. Some very rich people have extremely stressful jobs with extreme responsibilities, some might have inherited wealth and feel they lack purpose in life as everything was handed to them.

Being absolutely on the bones of your arse is heartbreaking and incredibly depressing too, and I'd rather be crying in a Rolls Royce than laughing while living in a tent under a bridge.

But I don't think that you'll definitely be happy just because you're loaded.

I think the saying health is wealth has a lot of truth.
No amount of money can buy good health for some ( although it can help alleviate symptoms etc in some cases no doubt ).
So I think if you are comfortable enough and are able to.provide for your families needs and have good health throughout your lifetime you have pretty much won the lottery of life.

Money doesn't buy happiness, but it very definitely prevents deeper misery and worries.

Money buys opportunity and practical things to oil the wheels. It doesn’t buy health, but it can buy treatment. It buys material goods, but it doesn’t buy love or care or generosity or empathy.

If you don’t have money, many doors are closed to you and make it more difficult to live a fulfilling life. It won’t make you happy but it can provide many of the things that will.

Having money doesn't buy happiness but it does so you worrying where your rent, next meal, children's clothes are coming from.

I find it's the people who have never struggled financially who tend to use the phrase

Once you have attained a reasonable standard of living (ie able to afford your own home, family, good food and holidays etc) then I don’t believe additional money buys you happiness.

I don't think being super rich automatically brings happiness, in fact wealth can be a barrier to genuine relationships and friendships.

However, I think it's practically impossible to be happy if you're broke.

My Grandad, who grew up poor and became quite comfortable used to say "money can't buy happiness, but it makes being miserable a darn sight more comfortable".

If material possessions are what equal happiness to you then absolutely.

But happiness generally goes deeper than that.

Money can absolutely buy you a better standard of living. Bigger house, better car, better area to live in.

But it doesn’t stop people from falling ill, or dying, or losing loved ones. And before anyone says “but you can buy a better standard of treatment” that is irrelevant if the outcome is the same.

Look at the number of celebrities who die either by suicide or drug overdose for instance. They have money beyond anything most of us could even imagine, and it clearly doesn’t buy them happiness. In fact it buys them the substances which do enough harm to cause their downfall.

No it doesnt bring you happiness. I worked for a man for twenty years who owned a thriving coffee shop/restaurant. He also owned a tapas bar and lots of properties. He owned all of these outright so was very comfortable moneywise but what a bloody miserable man!!
God knows why I worked for him so long. He had been married three times and all failed. Everyone who had dealings with him had not one good word for him.
Took him all his time to say Good Morning. He looked for the bad in everyone and everything so in his case.......no money doesnt bring you happiness.

Money buys you security, opportunities and choices.

You may make bad choices and be unhappy, like fall in love with someone who treats you poorly or become friends with people who use you.

You may be bereaved or suffer a terrible injury and be unhappy.

What money does is provide a greater number of opportunities to manage those situations. If you are rich, it's easier financially to walk away from a poor relationship (although not necessarily emotionally easier) or buy in intensive physio or grief counselling to help adapt to your situation.
But it doesn't mean you would never be unhappy.

I don't think it is normally said to romanticise poverty, more used as a way of saying don't damage your health and relationships chasing mega riches?

In my experience (which is encountering vv ‘high net worth individuals’ via DH’s job), yes, it does. They very often seem vaguely bored and removed from things. I sometimes think of it as the difference between enjoying a warm fire after you’ve been out in the cold. If you’re always in a temperature-controlled bubble, it’s just how things are.