AIBU to think money DOES/Would bring happiness?

[M0naLisa]

So we go on holiday to America we have a fabulous time, we go on weekaways with or without the kids monthly, we enjoy ourselves we spend lots on the food shop per week. Although most weekends we eat out at restaurants/pub meals etc etc
Days out with the kids which they enjoy

We're very happy

Then i wake up!!!!!

Yes i dreamt it :(

So aibu to think Money does/could bring happiness?

It depends on what is making you unhappy.

I think saying, in effect, 'people who have money are ignorant - they should realise what life is like without - people I know who have money are awful' means it is less likely to make you happy.

In my experience, having not had it and having had it, the people who are happy are rarely the people sitting at home envying everyone else.

When dh and I had nothing we were happy but with money worries. Now we are happy with no money worries.
I know envious, complaining, hard done by people who would still be miserable fuckers if they won the lottery.

Money just emphasises who you are.

It means that we do not have to worry about money, thats it.

It does not = happy.

6 mcs, deaths of family members and close friends isnt counted if the assumption is that life is rosy when you have no money worries.

A luxury holiday to America wont make all that go away, a full shopping trolley also wont make all that go away.

Spose i can see your pov op, but there is always more to it isnt there sadly.

Having enough money brings security and peace of mind and helps you find happiness. Having to worry about paying bills and stuff is just plain miserable and stressful.

It means one worry is gone which opens up your options considerably.

BUT I have four close friends who had a parent die when they were in their late teens. They have all recently come into A LOT of money. It gives them some comfort but not as much as ahving their parents with them through early adulthood.

Money brings its own troubles. DH and I would probably be classed as wealthy. When we met we didn't have much and life was a lot simpler. To be honest I was probably happier.

Money helps up to a point, but beyond that, no.

I suppose it depends how much price you put on material things, and why you want them.

This may sound prissy but reading this, skint as usual, I found myself thinking that although poor at least I am not being shelled by my country's own army like people in Homs.

tardis - I had a friend at uni whodse parents both died by the time he was 15 - he stayed with an aunt until 17. His parents were very poor and so he inherited absolutely nothing. Money wouldn't have brought his parents back either, but it would have macde his early adult life a hell of a lot easier.

Money does not create happiness, it just solves some problems that can create unhappiness. There is a very big difference.

Money does not make people ignorant. Poor people can be ignorant too, it's just that the two groups of people are likely to be ignorant about different things.

It annoys me when people say negative things about others just because they have money, it's no different to judging someone because they are poor. Doing either of those things show massive ignorance, but doing it about people with money indicates jealousy as well which IMO, is a worse trait than ignorance.

it is very hard to be truely happy when you are worrying how you are going to pay your rent/mortgage and bills all the time, it just weighs you down

of course money can not make you happy but it can take away many worries that make you miserable, been there never want to go back

I think it would bring happiness definitely

Money gives you choice not happiness.

My Dad had no choice, but to spend his days doing a job he didn't particularly enjoy and his evenings repairing our ancient car. Mum couldn't say stuff cooking let's go out for a meal.
Neither could say bugger it let's not go and see the Grandparents at half term, let's jet off somewhere interesting (this sure as hell would have increased DSIS and my happiness levels).

So yes money can increase choice and reduce the stress of accounting for every penny. I think that makes people happier.

I know mum particularly enjoyed the periods of our childhood when money wasn't quite so tight. She did the budgeting and a lot of the doing without

Of course choice it's self can cause stress if you are the sort of person who agonises over every decision.
in the direction of DF

Apologies if this hsa already been posted. But apparently research into happiness suggests that above the level of not having to worry about the basics, money doesn't bring more happiness.

Id love to see how the family members in my family who have money cope without iykwim?

In a previous period of my life we had private jets, yachts, nice cars and big houses none of it brought us happiness. We now have a lovely life where just being together is the most important thing. When you have money you have very few real friends.

Well, that's the point, it's the kind of world we live in.

I know I and most children in this country would be a good bit happier if someone smashed up all our electronic gadgets, laptops and forbade us to go on the internet, and if we wore simple clothes, ate simple things and didn't know what a £5 note looked like. Also if we were let to run loose in the forests and school was simple, pencil and paper for a few hours a day, and if there were less of us (possibly through economic restrictions, which is where the absence of money comes in...), how much better it would be.
If we grew up knowing how to push ourself the limit but not having to. 25 hour working weeks- lower wages, lower prices, it's the basic model we all want...
We're supposed to have lots of choice now- though some people think we only have two choices- but it would be better if we had so many fewer little ones...see this is where I stop short of suggesting we turn the UK into a DDR type state.

My second cousin is a banker who married a lawyer. They had three beautiful kids, a huge house, a new car, a foreign holiday three times a year, a horse, a holiday house in Spain etc. They got divorced, his wife got half his money and the kids. He isn't really happy anymore and just works all the time.

Money can add to happiness but you need all the other factors of happiness as well.

It also depends how much you work for your money. If you work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, you won't be happy because you can't enjoy your money.

It depends what you do to get the riches. If you hate your job with a passion and it brings oodles of stress the money probably won't be enough.

The trick is to do something you love and get paid well, then yes the result will probably be that you are happier.

Obviously other things like health issues, which can't be resolved, or the state of relationships are a contributing factor to happiness.

Rover Not necessarily- some people just like working. They get a lot out of it.

If happiness=contentment, then no, I don't think money can buy you that, because there are so many things that stop you being fundamentally content.

However, the adage "just throw some money at the problem" is true to an extent. e.g. if your boiler breaks and you're rich, you just call the emergency plumber and get it fixed right there on the spot, and screw the out of hours charges. If you're down to your last fiver and have no way to get any credit, then that is a massive stress on top of the physical issues of no heating or hot water for x weeks while you find some cash from somewhere.

@lesley33 what has that got to do with the topic?

I think it can make an already happy person happier and can emphasise sadness or provide fleeting happiness.

I have had a lot of money in the past but was generally unhappy. I had moments of happiness but it was the short lived boost provided by staying in a nice hotel or playing something useless but sparkly. Once that boost had gone I was pissed of for remaining fundamentally unhappy despite having a life most of my friends would kill for.

I was then totally skint, happier but stressed. Anyone who thinks money has no bearing on happiness has never been totally skint.

Now we are comfortable and very happy. But that is not just because of our money although our happiness is is related to the fact at we have a nice house, go on holiday, can afford to eat out, have hobbies, keep animals etc. Our money creates opportunities to be happy, but if we were miserable we would not make the most of these opportunities. A little more money would enable more of these opportunities I guess although I agree with a poster before that you reach a point when you have all that you need.