To think people who say “money doesn’t buy happiness” have never had real money?

[EdgyRobin]

Poor people romanticising struggle is weird.

Agreed. I have been Rich and I have been poor, rich was better.

Money could 100% buy me happiness. A big house, holidays, better health care, just the feeling of being more secure. Less worries about the future. This saying has never made sense to me.

Is it weird or is it a way of accepting their situation and trying to spin it into a positive? It’s unsurprising, IMO. Of course life’s struggles often could be eliminated or alleviated by money.

I agree too. I grew really quite poor and it wasn’t much fun tbh. Yes, we made the most of it but having more money would have made life easier and led to increased happiness.

i accept that things happen which means that people with money aren’t immune to unhappiness but money goes a long way in helping ease the everyday burdens.

I also think money/ happiness is relative - you get used to having it quickly and your everyday gripes change so the hum drum is still there - it’s just different issues causing it.

I’m always very happy when I have money 😀

It does.
Of course if there is something wrong/missing from your life that money can't fix then its true BUT being sad and rich is being betteer than being sad and poor.
Money fixes most problems or at least make sthem easier to bear.

Better to be miserable in comfort, at the very least

It depends what their definition of happiness is - healthy family, love, etc. Thats what they mean. Money gives options and helps relieve a lot of worry/stress so in that sense, it can. Its a phrase open to everyone's interpretation.
If I was a billionaire I would probably be unhappy if I was single, no friends and no children so in that sense; money cannot buy you happiness.
If I had all the above but was wealthy versus all the above and poor then yes I would be far happier with more money.

I hear well off people saying this but they don’t mean being poor. They mean, once you have a base level of money/comfort, additional ££££ doesn’t buy happiness.

Also, you can have all the money in the world but that doesn’t make you immune to tragedy. I think of the Goldsmiths losing their daughter in a quad bike accident. No amount of money would have made them happy the day they were given that life changing news. I would rather have less money than lose a child.

So money won’t necessarily make you happy, but it’ll sure as shit make your misery more comfortable.
This quote underestimates the sheer mental strain that poverty brings with it, remove that and a lot of people would be a lot healthier mentally. Happier? Possibly.

Money buys choice, and insulates from a lot of worry. However, I think that while many people feel that money would solve many of their problems, for a lot of people, they would just end up creating different ones: most people’s lifestyles escalate in line with their incomes and the escalation brings with it new, other things to worry about or feel dissatisfied with. If that weren’t the case, there wouldn’t be any unhappy, stressed, or depressed people above a certain income level.

I think if someone struggles with mental health then being rich won't solve that. True happiness comes from within. If money was the answer rich people wouldn't commit suicide.

Money doesn’t buy happiness. Bereavement, family problems, mental health problems can happen if you’re rich or poor, they are very indiscriminate really.

However, if you have money you have more ability to deal with these unhappy moments. You can pay for therapy. You can take unpaid time off work or actually you are probably working for an employer that supports mental health rather than a zero hour contract with no sick leave. Being miserable when you have money is easier.

That’s a fair point and I do think for a lot of people, it is about survival thinking. When you’re in a tough situation with no clear way out, finding dignity or meaning in the struggle can be a lifeline.

I guess what I find strange is when people start actively defending poverty as if it builds more character or makes you morally superior. Like struggling doesn’t make you noble - it just makes life harder. I get the emotional need to reframe hardship but sometimes it tips into a kind of anti-wealth mindset that doesn’t help anyone either.

Money doesn't buy happiness, but it definitely helps. 🙂

It doesn't, but it can buy you a solution to many of life's problems.

Recent example - This month, our car cost £1k to get it through the MOT. Paying for it hasn't made us happy, and we've moaned about it, but we paid for it out of our general 'fun' money for the month and moved on.

15 years ago when I was maxed out on credit cards and living month to month, £1k would have been catastrophic, I needed the car to get to work and wouldn't have been able to find the money (probably resorting to payday loans) the stress and impact on my ability to pay for other essentials for the next few months would have been miserable.

I'd never want to go back to lying awake at night worrying about money. It's dreadful.

Your title is pretty un-nuanced. A poor person suffering all the stresses and problems associated with poverty will absolutely feel alleviated by acquiring enough money to solve those problems. But someone who’s always been rich isn’t necessarily happy because of their riches — that’s as normal as the laws of gravity to them. And, judging by some of the ultra-rich types DH encounters through work, they can be weirdly bored by a life that is cushioned by layers of staff, chauffeured cars, private jets and total lack of effort. Everything was as though experienced through tinted, double-glazed glass.

I can 100% confirm that money makes me incredibly happy, in fact there’s nothing quite as happiness-inducing as seeing large numbers in my bank account.
I’d choose money over being with the loveliest broke bloke ever, for example.

I would say money buys security. You will always have clothes, food, a place to stay, access to good medical care etc.

Huge amounts of money buys security like this and also “extras”.

However many rich and famous people over the years have also been deeply troubled and a few have also died tragically. Amy Winehouse. Heath Ledger. Liam Payne. Marylin Munroe.

All the money in the world didn’t save them.

I think when people say that they've never experienced real poverty (rather than real money). Poverty brings misery and suffering.

I do think it's true that above a certain level of comfort the correlation of more money/more contentment plateaus.

I'm not capital R rich but more comfortable financially than the majority. I thought I'd feel over the moon to have no mortgage and afford what I wanted within reason. But whilst I do appreciate the level of comfort, there is always something to worry about and plan for. Have I got enough in my pension to maintain this lifestyle when i retire? Will I be able to pay off my kids student loans? Will I be able to help them with a house deposit?

Contentment and "happiness" are not the same thing.

I was once rich.

There was nothing money could solve. I was very ill once. I didn’t even bother jumping through the hoops of my private healthcare as I do now, I just paid out of pocket for immediate help. I didn’t worry about who would pay the bills, who would look after the children. I paid people for the best help.

Money brings you choices and lack of worry and that’s what brings you happiness. Anyone who doesn’t realise that is deluded.

I’d rather go through tragedy while rich and not having to worry about other stuff, than while poor and struggling.

Of course money doesn’t buy happiness - shit can still happen to you when you are wealthy - illness , bereavement, tragedy.
But - money buys you choice and options - it gives you freedom to choose what you want to do . It buys you time to enjoy what you like doing . It gives you the chance to experience new things , new places . It gives you the chance to live a life of comfort . It gives you stability and a lack of stress over the general cost of living .
All of which should add up to the chance a happy existence - but it’s not guaranteed.

I dunno to be honest. I know someone who is mega, mega rich….im talking more money than it’s possible to spend in your lifetime super yacht rich. They still have serious health issues which all the healthcare in the world can’t cure and their partner still had an affair and left them.

I’m sure the money and the security and the nice holidays puts them in a much better position than if they didn’t have the money. But guess it might not “buy happiness”.

Money provides you with opportunity. Whether that houses, holidays or caring for / enabling others, it allows you to choose more freely

My ex sil, who has never ever known poverty and financial struggle and is wealthy because of her husband, says this.

It annoys me.