Page 6 | To think money could actually buy happiness?

nonamemummy · 2019-12-25T19:57:23+00:00

I personally feel money could buy happiness Do you agree?

zebra22 · 26/12/2019 14:41

Money can definitely make life easier but you can’t buy happiness

Northernsoullover · 26/12/2019 14:42

I don't think it would make me happier. At the moment I'm ok financially. That will change if I go onto universal credit but hopefully I will qualify in my field before that happens. At the moment I do the same things as wealthier people do just in less lavish environments. I go abroad but its a cheap DIY package. I drive a battered car instead of a range rover. My needs are met and a fair few wants too.

Insideimsprinting · 26/12/2019 14:49

Yabu, money certainly makes life easier especially ir you have debts to clear etc. Once that's all tidied up and your financial sorted then what? I think many people will then still end up looking for happiness.

SleepDeprivedElf · 26/12/2019 14:59

Yes I think it can. Even if it can't cure poor health, it means you don't have to work and worsen it.

The80sweregreat · 26/12/2019 15:03

The royals have it all but never seem totally happy and it's true, it can bring other stresses such as losing it all and having to have bigger and better alarms on the mansion as someone will try to take it all away one way or another!
There are downsides too to extreme wealth I guess. It can also solve a lot of things though. It really is an enigma to me but we can't live without it.
There must be another way but nobody has thought of this yet.
I'm lucky that I've not experienced real poverty, but I've definitely gone without meals to feed the kids in the past. It's been up and down for us , but for some there isn't any way of poverty and that makes me sad.
things did get better for us over time.
(It just seemed a long time when everyone else seemed really well off! )
That doesn't help if your family and friends seem better off and all of ours were when we had nothing much!

Introvertedbuthappy · 26/12/2019 15:08

Money can definitely buy happiness. Yes, it can’t buy health but it’s even more shit to be in ill health and poor. We’ve been broke before, unable to buy Christmas presents and on occasions eat full meals to feed our eldest when we were young.
Now we’re in the privileged position of having lots of money and we’ve never been happier - we can’t quite believe how great everything it is now. Our jobs are still stressful and the hours are actually longer, but we have way more money, so being able to eat out lots, have a cleaner/nanny/cook are things that we have.
Having money isn’t everything, but not having it is.

CoffeeCoinnesseur · 26/12/2019 15:12

Having money takes away a lot of the worries and stresses of every day life.

To some extent it can buy health - or at least it can contribute hugely towards good health in that it allows a far healthier lifestyle if one chooses, and it can buy quicker access to healthcare should you need it.

We've been 'wealthy' for about 5 years now and it has vastly improved our lives and I'd say overall we spend a lot more of our Iives feeling happy (recognising that "happiness" is not a permanent state for any human) than we did previously.

AlaskanOilBaron · 26/12/2019 15:15

Yes, it can.

I am grateful every day for having money.

SleepDeprivedElf · 26/12/2019 15:18

Are you really an Alaskan oil baron @AlaskanOilBaron??

CripsSandwiches · 26/12/2019 15:20

Statistically it doesn't. Even a lottery win only makes people happier on average for a year after which they get used to it. As someone who has had a very significant increase in our family income I'd say that's true. The caveat is that people who actually don't have enough for basics are consistently less happy which is unsurprising.

AlaskanOilBaron · 26/12/2019 15:22

Are you really an Alaskan oil baron

Absolutely.

countrygirl99 · 26/12/2019 15:22

If you lose a child you will be miserable whether you are rich or poor. But if you are rich the cost of the funeral won't be an added burden.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 26/12/2019 15:24

Yes it can.

The freedom from money worries would be worth it alone to me.

It can also help access better medical care and education if the state provision is insufficient where you are.

It can help family members and friends. It can further your own education and skill set. It can pay for tutors for your dc or therapists.

It can give you a comfortable home, freedom to travel and the ability to have a better work life balance.

I'd imagine it brings some stresses or challenges, but am convinced these would be better than no/not enough/very little money.

Freesunglasses · 26/12/2019 15:27

Nah it doesn't bring happiness but it does bring choices, no stress over paying the bills, the worry that one day we will have to pay for healthcare if you have money you won't have that worry.

My friend has plenty of money but terrible health problems. strangely the only time I've ever seen her really upset is when her husband lost his job. She takes all her many, many health problems in her stride. Money is very important to her. Is she happy? As long as she has money it appears so.

I think we'd all agree that having lots money would be lovely!

AlaskanOilBaron · 26/12/2019 15:28

The royals have it all but never seem totally happy and it's true, it can bring other stresses such as losing it all and having to have bigger and better alarms on the mansion as someone will try to take it all away one way or another!

IMO, there's a kind of happy medium for wealth where you still have your privacy, no one can easily infer how much money you have, and you retain 'middle class' values i.e. there's some pleasure to be had in saving money or getting a new laptop and so on.

Lottery winners, celebrities and and the super-rich don't really fall into this category.

NemophilistRebel · 26/12/2019 15:30

Lack of money doesn’t stop a close family member being suicidal
A grandparent having no memory of their children or grandchildren
A parent having a stroke/heart attack
Someone you know finding out they have cancer

So no I’m my opinion money doesn’t buy happiness unless you have no other trauma in your life but money worries

Yes it would be nice to clear that last lingering debt
Yes it’s be nice to afford a 3 bed house rather than a 2 bed
Yes it’s be nice to have the choice to work or not
But those are nice to haves

ODFOkaren · 26/12/2019 15:51

Of course it does.

It buys you choices in life.

I’ve been well off, it was wonderful. I had ten years of not having to worry about a thing.

Now I’m poor. I work in shit stressful minimum wage job and my whole life is a worry. Everything is a struggle and I feel sick constantly.

ODFOkaren · 26/12/2019 15:52

And I had trauma too when I was well off - and a period of illness. But I had private healthcare and wonderful treatment which took away a lot of the worry.

ZaraW · 26/12/2019 16:10

Yes money does buy happiness as mentioned above it gives you freedom and access to better health. I've been working overseas for years as I have complex medical issues which the NHS wouldn't screen. I am saving to pay privately when I eventually return. It would also provide help for my parents and a decent nursing home for my dad who has advanced Alzheimers.

nearlythere12 · 26/12/2019 16:19

It definitely gives you choices & makes life easier & for people in poverty clearly it will affect there happiness. However I think if you have enough already I'm not sure being able to buy more things will make your life any happier. I think large amounts can actually cause additional stress as sometimes too much choice isn't a good thing.

I had a pretty privileged upbringing & my happiest memories were of things that didn't cost much or calamities.

Single2catsand1daughter · 26/12/2019 16:22

No.

PanicAndRun · 26/12/2019 16:27

It can literally buy happiness if everything else is going fairly ok and the things you need are simply material.

For example a couple that want another baby but can't afford IVF.

Or a family that could really do with another room or an extra car.

Being able to replace things when needed.

Being able to change jobs,retrain, go part time or even stay at home for a while.

Hell even being able to jump on a train and visit a friend or go to the sea side for a day.

Being able to afford treats on a whim for yourself or others.

There are plenty of things big and small that you can buy that bring happiness. There are choices big and small that you can have with money.

Tragedy,abuse,loneliness,illness, mental health issues, misery don't care about how much is in your bank accounts, but it's bullshit to say that money can't buy happiness be it transient(holiday) or long lasting(a baby,a house).

mumderland · 26/12/2019 16:29

I think it definitely helps make life easier but it certainly can't buy happiness. Look at all the celebs who have committed suicide 😔

zafferana · 26/12/2019 16:34

YANBU OP. There are things it can't buy, of course, like good health or helping when you're grieving, but there is real misery in being cold, hungry and poor. Just being able to put the heating on, buy what you need, fix your car/boiler/whatever when it breaks - it's simple stuff but NOT being able to afford those things is shit. Being able to afford a holiday too is lovely. You don't have to be a millionaire, but being comfortable and not having to worry - that's happiness.

BlaueLagune · 26/12/2019 16:35

I don't think money buys happiness but it definitely helps to be able to throw money at a problem.

For example: broken down car - can afford a taxi.

Broken down washing machine, just call someone out or buy a new one, because you can afford it.

Ill with something annoying but not life-threatening - you don't have to wait for the NHS, you can afford to go privately.

An example of someone my mum knows - she in her mid 40s and has learning difficulties and is living alone because her mother is in hospital. She's not doing too badly but needs a cleaner and I suppose kind of housekeeper to do washing etc. She doesn't need to wait for social services, she can just afford to pay for a cleaner/washer/ironing service.

It may not make you happy but it can certainly make you a lot less unhappy.