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 feel happier than when I owed £1.3m, overdrawn and had no savings, that's for sure.

I agree with everyone who says that lack of money can make you pretty unhappy. I've been skint (and £50k in debt) and not skint and I kno which I'd rather be. I was still happy when I was skint but not having any money means you spend more time than you'd like on saving money / finding ways to cut down etc.

Having enough money certainly makes life easier - there are lots of problems (not all) that are easily resolved by throwing money at them.

Apparently you only need £380 spare a month after all bills and food is paid to be "happy" (well, at least fulfill most of the elements of the happiness pyramid, and definitely all the essentials on the bottom layer).

Badger, I'm sorry for your losses. I sincerely hope no one has ever said anything like so insensitive to you, and those that have have done it as a slip of the tongue, "shit, what do I say to the grieving person? Acknowledge something good about their life, like that negates the shit!" kinda way

DH lost.his folks in his teens. As an only child he inherited all of their modest estate (a 3-bed house and a couple of small life insurances). I never even met his folks and I'd rather live in a teeny house with the usual mortgage than our lovely 4-bed mortgage free. However because of the financial situation I am able to be a SAHM and we can afford to have a third baby and DH can afford to do a job he largely enjoys (with great work/life balance) without worrying about money.

Obviously our fortunate state came with great hardship (DH's mental health being the biggie) but many of the things which make our life "nice" come from having that money...

I think money can make you happier, and I think it can be a small silver lining in a bad situation, but cam money make you happy? No.

I am very unhappy today that I cannot go to the Venice opera to see the magic Flute. In fact I am now pissed off only the most expensive tickets remain.

Not only can money alleviate unhappiness, but of course can be used to create and do things that make you happy.

It is a lie to say that money doesn't bring happiness. It brings with it the opportunity to do things in life. Its a lie perpetuated by those who have all the money, upon those who have none of the money.

Why do we want to do things to make ourselves happy, why do we think we can create happiness if only we had opportunity...inequality.

Money buys you choices. You can re-train, re locate, buy child care....or not, help out family, indulge hobbies, travel, live in a beautiful home. You don't have to show up at a job you hate because you have no other choice. You don't have to stop at 1/2/3 children because you have no choice. Loads of massive advantages to having plenty of money!

My dad used to say that whilst money can't buy you happiness, poverty definitely buys you misery.

I suppose it also depends on your definition of lots of money. I think £100K a year is an awful lot of money (although it seems normal on mn!). It's just over double our current household income and would take our lives from "entirely comfortable" to "flush". But if someone offered me a job on £50K a year I wouldn't take it (I'm a SAHM) because we have enough to be happy now. 10 years ago when we were utterly skint I would have done just about anything for another £2K a year, so I agree with pp who say that once you reach a threshold where you're comfortable the extra money doesn't extrapolate to extra happiness.

It gives you options. If you are an unhappy situation, you can get out of it easier. Life in General becomes easier if you don't have to budget and scrimp.

But even if you have money, life will always through shit at you that you cannot buy your way out of, bereavement being a glaring example.

throw!

We have a household income of 30k. We're happy. We have a warm home, food on the table, a very pleasant life. We get by and enjoy our lives walking, running, reading, etc.

My colleague, with a household income of circa 90k, is desperately unhappy - chiefly, and she admits, because she feels she hasn't got "enough."
She lives in a smart area surrounded by people with huge houses, Range Rovers, new clothes, "done" nails, regular salon trips, foreign holidays, nannies, endless clubs and music lessons for the kids, you name it.

Every person in her house has a tablet. We don't have one between us. She's been away four or five times in the last year, we haven't been on a plane in years. Our honeymoon was in a tent in the UK. But we're happier,I think because we're not aspiring to a "lifestyle" that involves endless stuff.

50k is a big household income. But not if you want holidays, cars, gadgets, haircuts and the rest - as well as somewhere to live, bills paid and food to eat.

So yes, while enough money helps, so many people never think they have enough. So it doesn't make them happy, it makes them more depressed because they're on the cusp of a lifestyle they can't quite afford, or at least not easily.

God no.
Thinking of the wealthiest family I know - big house, flash cars and exotic holidays - they also have an abusive toxic marriage, the wife is an alcoholic with a coke habit. Their kids are being brought up with every luxury but all have emotional problems ie depression, OCD and anorexia .

Sounds like they'd be pretty miserable without money, too, Pigwitch!

It's so difficult to say with all the variances of people with money, with those having quite a bit and those who have a lot. I found it quite hard to be happy when we were struggling financially. Having some disposable income now (we still don't earn that much) has definitely made things easier which has helped make me happier. Also, I have learned to find joy in non material things. I'll never know what it is like to be wealthy and I'm OK with that.

Easier for a camel to pass through the eye of needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven ...

Jesus was on the money on this one (pardon the pun).

No, it can't, but it can make life easier. That being said, I think it brings its own problems.
When I was first starting out in my career, my DP was an obscenely wealthy Saudi man, his money funded my prelim research which kickstarted my career. Our relationship was messed up for a lot of reasons (my age, for one), but I made far more allowances because I was reaping the benefits of having a wealthy partner. I sort of felt like that was the deal I made and the price I had to pay.

It does give you more choices too, I think.

YES!!! Of course, I agree you will never get rid of your insecurities, or worries, however to remove the needless worries, like - ^ roof over head, paying bills, worrying about food or heating or school shoes etc. Of course that would make you happier.

You dread winter you want winter sun you can go and get it, your car breaks down or goes wrong you can aford to fix it without worry!

If you are stressed and worried all the time its harder to be friendly and make new freinds

Yes. All but two of my major problems would be solved if I had a spare couple of million in the bank.
No doubt about it.

Difference betwen £50k and £100k in terms of net pay is £29k, quite a bit but not £50k spare as it were.

People tend to increase their spending as they get better off - eg I was paying 5 sets of school fees, £90k mortgage a year etc.

I think goblin may be my dad! Thats what he always says

It would make me happy. I'm not materialistic so I'd like to think I'd spend it in a good way. Most people would be happy bit more money.
That said, my friend is rich, he has a very well paid job, his wife's parents bought them a 500k house, spent 30k on their wedding, etc. But that didn't stop his wife cheating on him. Now he's completely miserable, spends most weekends sleeping.

Also, a big part of it is how you get that money; a stressful 60h job you hate isn't going to make you happy no matter how much money you get paid.

I've never had debt, or been proper poor. But have had times when I only had enough for essentials.
Much prefer living the life we have now- I work p/time and we don't need my money, we go out loads, have been on lots of nice holidays, can buy what we want, have a lovely house in a nice area, we will be able to help our Dc and retire early.
A certain amount gives you a decent lifestyle, above that it's just fluff.

Having something to strive for and being able to achieve it leads to higher self esteem. Not having money worries and being unhappy about other things leads to real feelings of guilt, which causes more unhappiness.
But there's also real bone grinding poverty which leaves no space for taking pleasure in anything, and that trumps all the guilded cage, low self esteem unhappiness that people with money experience.

money gives you choices and without it the choice for how you live gets taken away

Household income of less than £30,000 here
Money buys you choice
I would love to choose what to eat not be ruled by what is on the reduced counter or this weeks special offer
I would like to choose clothes furniture household appliances cars and even holidays based on preference rather than cost
This would make me happier than I am
However money itself doesn't bring happiness whilst lack of it often brings misery

life is a shit sandwich, the more bread you have, the easier it is to swallow.