when a rich person says 'money doesnt buy you happiness"

[pingIspom]

aibu to feel like screaming ?

money does buy happiness otherwise they'd give it all away

Having little or no money and constantly worrying can make you utterly miserable and cause a huge amount of stress which can make you ill physically and mentally

Having money certainly makes life easier in many ways - of course you will still suffer bereavement, can suffer ill health but life is more comfortable and allows you to enjoy more why pretend otherwise

Yes, Spud, just that. The treatment we have been able to afford for DS is already making a huge difference to his life.

Money doesn't solve all problems and doesn't buy health, time or happiness but life is miserable when you are constantly struggling and having to watch every penny. And if people want to admit it or not, you need money for things to bring you joy, been able to buy nice things and look after yourself is so important to your overall mental wellbeing. Life is definitely easier with money, and that's why people who have money and say it doesn't bring happiness are never willing to give it all away. I personally think health is the most precious thing but having enough money to live on and enjoy a nice quality of life is vital too.

Bit of a non sequitur though, Walnut. My child has been dead for 7 years now, my son has ASD and OCD. I've had to shift him to another country to get treatment for him, he's sick, but I'm lucky I was able to. I experience frequent suicidal ideation as a result of all this. No one would want to swap, nor would I ask them, but at any rate it is not possible. And things would be FAR worse were I not able to get that treatment for him, in fact, the ideation would have changed to execution, of that I am quite sure. The money has quite literally saved my life and quite possibly his, he's still quite ill and the NHS offered nothing to him or us.

I guess it depends what happiness looks like and that will be something different for each person. Money is responsible for an awful lot of unhappiness if you don't have enough money to live comfortably and constantly have that worry about not having enough money. Having enough money to feel secure and being able to live comfortably and well could go a long way towards someone defining themselves as being happy. I'm not saying money solves every problem because it doesn't but it can certainly help

It's true. My dad was a VERY wealthy man. But he was self made. When he had a lot of money he lost his old friends as they couldn't keep up, he surrounded himself with aclitcif fake people who were just after his money. He became very depressed and sad. He was definitely happier living hand to mouth x

It bothers me when I hear 'I've worked my way to the top to get where I am today' I've known many people who work their hides off but sadly never get the chance to reach the top for whatever reason... hard, long working hours does not always equal a luxurious lifestyle.

@sadie789 I'm truly sorry that your parents have such major health issues although I can understand your DM wanting to care for your DF for 15 years as a full time Carer myself I can also appreciate that if I was in a better financial position as you say your parents are I could afford the best care agency for my DD I could buy her a more comfortable wheelchair and a better bed. I could pay hand picked carers to look after her instead of me at the age of 57 having to care for her on my own because the local borough won't pay the average cost of a care agency. I could go on holiday as respite or with my DD maybe abroad and first class so that she's not cramped and in pain from a tiny seat. I could get her the best private medical care instead of waiting 2 years for pain relief injections to help with her daily, chronic pain. No money will not bring her health nor a longer lifespan sadly ( just the same as your parents) but it could make her daily living a lot less stressful.

Money itself doesnt guarantee happiness.

But when you dont have enough money to feed yourself and your kids, lack of money makes life miserable.

Its not a case of wanting to swop.

But if you are ill and rich, it's a lot easier than being ill and poor.

As pp said, all things being equal life is easier with money.

Honestly op. Surely you are not that shallow?
Money can make life easier. If the only issue you have is lack of money it can make you happier.
It can't buy you:
A faithful partner
Well children
Your own health
Alive parents
Career fulfilment.

@AJPTaylor how many people are stuck with unfaithful partners because of a lack of money?

As many posters here have said, it doesnt buy your or your childs health. But having plenty of money means that choices are available to you that are for the poor. If you are well off, you have the choice of not working.

Money doesnt stop parents dying. But it can give you the time and resources to help deal with it. I have seen many people return to work to fast after bereavement, because they cant afford the time off.

And as for career fulfillment. If you have plenty of money you can take the time to retrain. When you are poor you often dont have this option and end up stuck in a job that because it pays the bills. You cant retrain or change career and start from the bottom rung.

And being poor doesnt mean anything on your list wont happen either. But if any of the above happened to me, I would rather be rich and have it happen, than poor and have it happen.

In every situation, being rich would give you more options, time, resources and choices.

Haha, I think we need a vote!

Studies consistently show that beyond a certain point (a point which is comfortable but not rich) more money doesn’t bring more happiness. That doesn’t stop most of imagining that it will though.

The really corrosive thing tends to be less about how much you have, and more about how you compare to your peers and the people around you if you feel you have much less. One of the best things I did was move from a wealthy part of London (where I felt poor) to a much cheaper part (where I feel quite well off). No change in the money I had, but a huge change in my perception of it.

Living without money is difficult and being rich will definitely give you more choices, give you access to a better lifestyle but on its own it will not make you happy. Possibly people who have never had it though will imagine that being able to buy anything you want will make you happy. I don't think that is true. Even access to better healthcare won't help. My dad was a successful and rich businessman but he died at 63 from the stress his job gave him and the very affluent lifestyle which meant he ate and drank too much giving him a heart attack. You could say though he was happy as he loved his work. Even the expensive private hospital and healthcare could not save him and certainly my wealthy mother wasn't happy any more than she is now 25 years later caring for my stepdad with dementia and she has more money than she can spend.

Everything in moderation applies to money as well I think.

There's loads of studies that show socio-economic status is related to poorer health and earlier death, by decades. So whilst being rich doesn't stop you getting cancer or dying, it makes those things less likely for your whole group til later in life. This is of little comfort to those who are wealthy and sick or dying.

However, it is better to be wealthy and sick- I don't live on poverty wages, carers wages, and can buy in some help (e.g. cleaner). The condition my family member has would have bankrupted us in the US so I thank the lord daily that we live in the UK, in the more advantaged group, so can get treatment and a whole slew of daily medication. So, it depends where you are rich as well.

The threshold of happiness is way above the minimum wage- it's about 50K in the UK I think, whereby people don't get much happier. that's a hell of a lot of people who don't earn 50K.

www.theguardian.com/science/2010/sep/06/earnings-pay-happiness-research

Money buys freedom

Exactly.
You heard stories about people who worked in the city with high stress high earning jobs who give it all up to grow flowers/forage for restaurants/open a small art gallery/sail around the world etc.
They now earn a fraction of what they did in the city and are happier.
However, they money bought them the freedom to give up their jobs without putting themselves and their families into huge amounts of debts and follow their dreams.

A lot of the things people are mentioning are not only achievable if you are rich, people seem to be talking about having savings and disposable income. 800 a week is 60k a year I think.

I kind of think there are three groups

People who dont have enough money full stop. So they suffer from the stress and worry of not being able to pay essential bills. They might be dependent on benefits or they might be working in a low income job. Trying to balance family and work life but without money for proper childcare or any help.

People who have enough money but through earned income. They might have some savings but certainly not enough to live off for a long time. So they have to work even if they dislike their job and it might be for quite long hours and stressful.

People who are wealthy. They might chose to work. But actually if it came down to it they could live off the income from their investments.

I reckon your probability of being happy rises as you go from one group to another and the stress of money and work goes away.

But no guarantees. Good health and family relationships can never be guaranteed no matter how much money you have.

I think it depends on how they got their wealth, if the built it up or were born into it. I know people from both & would only listen and appreciate those comments from the former.

I say that! I'm very much not got lots of money.🌼

@huggybear That is a high wage.

@user I think people who were poor as kids can have a very different experience from parents who are poor. Good parents try and shield their kids as much as possible from the impact of poverty.

@Nearlyalmost50 Interesting that the threshold is £50k. We both work and our household income is £45k a year, so I am not wrong then to think that more money would make us happier, even though I know we have more money than some other people we know.

Some wealthy people end up cutting their own lives short, simply because they can afford the fast cars (accidents), the skiing holidays (avalanches), the private planes (crashes), the horses (falls) and so on. A generalisation, and I know most don't but the possibility is there. I also believe that many poor people have lives shortened due to stress about money worries affecting their physical health as well as their mental health. Money brings lots of choices in life that poor people never get, such as access to a good private education where they finish up with a network of others who help them further with prospects, careers. (I'm thinking politicians here).

If I learnt 50k. I would be happy. 40k would mean I could pay all my Bills instead of juggling and have some left over.

If my wage was 50k I would drop some hours and reduce my childcare costs.