Money isn't everything?

No money or very tight money can erode happiness.

Not enough is a constant low level stress and worry - and actual poverty is grim.

I do think though there there a level of comfort/money where more doesn't increase happiness and where that is will vary between individuals and which society they are in.

Apparently high earners in US feel poor at moment because the comparsion for them is the super wealthy and the lifestyle costs they have are extreme and it's so easy with tehir limited safety nets and poor saving to fall lower down.

I think the problem is our parents would sacrifice things to keep the household together and children happy. I constantly see people complaining on here saying they can't afford things even though they earn £50k+. Nowadays, a lot of people have the latest phones, games consoles, new car every few years, takeaways every week, Netflix etc, nails, hair appointments spray tans, new clothes every season, new house decor and refuse to go without things because they can't afford it and so dont know how to enjoy life without spending money.

I have had a couple of problems this year, both of which totally would have been solved with money.

Most problems can be. Or if not solved, then lessened.

Working class is very different now to what it was years ago. Surviving in minimum wages in this country in 2026 is not easy, quality of life is far worse than it was even 10-20 years ago. DH Mother never worked, his Dad worked in a factory all his life but they still live in a house worth 500k now and never went without this could not happen today.

Only people who have money can say money isn’t everything.

I love having a lot of money (a fair bit, anyway), and I'm always aspiring to make more. My sister on the other hand isn't fussed at all. We grew up in the same circumstances.

My take on things is that when I was completely skint. I enjoyed coming up with ways to save money. Many of which I do now knowing that I never need to worry about money again.

Strangely, unlike the op, growing up in a poor working class area made me and my friends appreciate money, but not care or worry too much about it. Skint, do without. Flush, spend it. I think our mentality has been that something will turn up

You are conflating issues because you have said you had a happy childhood. Your dad probably didn’t want to be doing that job but from what you have said it didn’t make him unhappy, even if there are days when he’d rather not be doing it. So your in-laws are arguing the same thing. They think their happiness is solid enough and they focus on family that doing a manual job like your dad, or waiting 18 months for an operation like your mum wouldn’t make them unhappy. Your parents went through times that would have been made immeasurably easier with money but you still say they were happy.

Having money makes it more comfortable if you are unhappy. Sometimes money can directly buy your way out of that unhappiness - the means to flee a relationship and set yourself up, decent therapy, private healthcare, getting your kids into a school they are supported. Sometimes it can’t - you can visit all the expensive therapists but still be deeply unhappy, see the number of celebrities that have committed suicide. Your children can still suffer with terminal illnesses and no access to experimental treatments will change the outcome. It does make your life easier when you are in these points. It means you can buy help so spend more time trying to get better, or take time off, potentially access healthcare quicker or access specialist medical equipment easier. Having money makes life a lot more comfortable when you are in hard times.

Money isn't everything, and I say this as someone who has never had much of it, and sometimes struggled because of that. It's better than a kick in the head though.

As others have said, it can't make you happy (some of the wealthiest people I've known have also been the most miserable, or had mental health or addiction problems - and in the case of the latter, the money ended up being a very negative factor that likely contributed to his death) but it's generally better to have money than not have it.

Money buys you choices .

This is quite black and white, poverty versus lots of free money... I think like many things there is a middle ground. Yes I think you need to have enough money to be able to pay your bills, eat, have a decent enough amount of savings that you can fix a faulty boiler / washing machine etc. Lots of research show the impact of poverty on health/ mental health.

However, I often see posts on here, (eg i only have 1700 personal money after my share of the bills) where I think how much would be enough?

For me, the real wealth comes from being healthy and having the time to enjoy life and spend meaningful time with my children. So in short, yes there is more to life than money, but that's based on having more disposable money than lifting being able to lift yourself out of poverty...

Not if your surgeon doesn’t know what he’s doing!!

I'd rather cry in a GWagon than my current wee fiesta

They're not saying 'money is nothing' but 'money is not everything'. Indeed, it's not everything. The riches still die of incurable cancers.

I don’t think that’s a sentiment of the rich I actually find it more what people without money say

Money gives you options, and security. It's stressful without them.

@coulditbeme2323just FYI most people have no idea what you mean by ‘on the tools’.

I would prefer to have my full health to be honest!

People that are brought up with money have an in built confidence that whatever life throws at them they can deal with it, including having no money. And they are probably right, they will be able to, so with that outlook they don't see money as the framework for their happiness. So they would say money isn't buying whatever happiness they have.
But if you have been brought up without money you see alot of unhappiness through stress and limited and denied opportunities, so you very much frame having money as resolving these issues and therefore making you happy, or at least, not unhappy.

But once you get past a level of being able to have all the opportunities and buy best health care, housing, travel, then you don't become happier by accumulating more wealth. You only become happier by accumulating more goats.

The saying about money not buying happiness is based on the fact that in general, people with a lot of money are not happier than people with a modest amount of money (although I believe they are happier than people who are very poor).

I dream of being rich enough not to have to work, but I know several people who are rich enough not to work and they are not necessarily happy. I know some very rich people who actually find managing all their assets very stressful. I grew up poor, so I now appreciate hugely being able to do things like afford a meal out or to go to the cinema. So I would say being about to afford food and a decent home, to raise your children and to have a modest amount of relaxation and entertainment, those things are necessary for happiness. But once you get above a certain basic level of lifestyle, whether you are happy is often more to do with your outlook and personality than income.

I think money has diminishing returns but starts at a very high base.

If you have no money then £10 to allow you to buy food will bring you great pleasure. The same for the next amount of money that allows you to fund shelter. In my experience that continues albeit at a reduced marginal rate until you have enough to lead your life with no immediate day to day financial concerns eg never worrying about having to pay a bill.

After that point I have found the marginal benefit of more money to be far less than I maybe expected it to be.

Yes, it is absolute bullshit OP. Money solves almost any problem you can think of, including health in many instances. It affords better food and housing which helps to prevent health deterioration (both mental and physical) in the first place. It stops women being trapped by violent husbands, it means you don't have to prostitute yourself in a job that is slowly killing you, it means you don't have to pray to god that the boiler or your 15 year old car doesn't break down. Because if they do, you are totally screwed. When your IL's say if they lost the lot it would be fine, they've got no idea whatsoever. They're living in another dimension I'm afraid.

It can absolutely. Your example referencing your one happy childhood not in poverty just doesn’t give a good example I guess.

Money isn't everything. You can be rich and utterly miserable.

that's not the same as saying money doesn't matter and doesn't improve even the most otherwise miserable of lives.