To ask can money make you happy?

[Needinghelp1]

I'm feeling a bit at the moment.

Can it make you happy, do you think?

I think it can alleviate a lot of the pressures that can are you UNhappy, but it's not a magic cure.

That said, it's more comfy to cry in a Range Rover than on a bus.

It is certainly easier to be unhappy when you have not enough money. Some people will be miserable to matter how much they have though.

Not the money itself probably but the whole not having to worry about where your next meal is coming from and whether you can afford rent or to put the heating on would certainly make life easier.
I once saw one of those memes that said something along the lines of "Money mart not make you happy but I'd rather cry in a mansion," and thought the same.

I think money can make unhappiness palatable, certainly.

Only to a small degree. There are studies on this and beyond quite a modest income, no, it doesn't make people report better levels of happiness.

Of course it does affect lots of other things such as standard of housing, meals, clothing,mexperiences which could be argued to make one feel content. However, millions do not appear to make individuals happier than those living on modest means.

Having been very hard up for a period of our lives I can report feeling much happier when things improved.

Might not make you happier...

Not sure about 'happy' but I guess it can make being miserable more pleasant.

I am not poverty-stricken but I'd be a flip of a lot happier if I never had to work again.

I am far from rich, but I am mortgage free at a young age. My mother died when I was sixteen; my father died last year. I recently turned 33.

I do encounter people on a surprisingly regular basis who feel my lack of mortgage makes up for my parents not being around - as if!

Well I've been poor and less poor (note I'm not saying rich!) and life is a hell of a lot easier when you're not shitting yourself about how you're going to buy nappies, food and pay the gas bill. Never, ever want to go back to that.
Maybe it doesn't buy happiness but it certainly makes worry disappear.

I think that up to a certain point, yes it can. Being poor is stressful in itself. After a certain level of comfort I doubt getting richer makes much difference though.

No.

Yes l think so but it doesn't need to be mass amounts. Just what you need iykwlm.

We live in London with modest incomes, but have a fairly tiny mortgage and holiday frequently and can afford to replace /buy treats. This makes me happy definitely.

But l'm a born saver and putting money away and pretending we don't have it until next pay day makes me very happy too!

Money itself won't make you happy, but it gives you the opportunity to do things that will. Let's be honest, if none of us had mortgages to worry about and no need to work we'd be swanning off on lovely holidays and doing those things we've always wanted to.

Possibly not, but you can be miserable in comfort.

I don't think money can of itself make you happy about ALL of your life....... but without the stress of poverty and the options that having money brings, life must be better in many ways.

I have been desperatley poor in my past, and am now comfortable with considerable savings to fall back on. I know I am much happier now than then, because I feel secure.

It allows you to do things that make you happy - holiday, gym membership, meals out, nice warm house etc.

As others say it doesn't make you happy in itself. But life is a whole lot harder when money is a major worry. Being rich removes that worry.

I read an interesting study which indicated that a big lottery win only increases your overall happiness levels for 6 months.

As Tevye said, "It's no great shame to be poor, but it's no great honor either."

A recent harvard study (I think) says that your happiness levels increase with an increase in income to the limit of USD70,000 (which is a nice but not spectacular income here). After that having more money makes no difference to your happiness.

So I think the lesson is being poor and struggling can affect your happiness but once you are reasonably comfortable then it stops making a difference.

the same study showed money increased happiness the most when you used it to buy experiences rather than things.

Well, if you didn't have any money worries and were able to buy whatever you needed when you needed it (need, not want), then yes, I think anyone would be happier.

A secure income, a roof over your head, food in the table. Happier to have these things than not, surely. Obviously it can't buy you love or friendship or your health, but it can give you choices and make life a bit easier.

In general, having no money worries, being able to live in comfort and do lovely things like nice holidays would definitely make you happier..

In reality, I know a woman who doesn't have to work, can buy whatever she wants, has 50k holidays (not a typo!), two nannies for her one baby and is seriously depressed.

Didn't John Lennon say 'money can't buy you happiness but at least you can be miserable in comfort'?
I don't think money can make a grouch happy but being poor can bring down the happiest person

I think the research showed that after an income of £50k, more money doesn't make you happier. - so your needs are met and you have some money for treats/luxuries. And lottery winners report being no happier a year after winning than they were before.