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

[EdgyRobin]

Poor people romanticising struggle is weird.

It’s the secular version of the religious bs of “blessed be the poor because the Kingdom of Heaven is yours”.

I can't see how money buys happiness. It will take away the misery caused by poverty, but that's a different matter entirely.

The idea that anyone who thinks that money doesn't buy happiness is "romanticising the struggle" is bullshit.

Hmm I don’t know. We have the big house, nice cars, holidays, lots of stuff, it’s great, we’re lucky, I’m very happy. But I look back to when me and DH were just starting out in our little one bedroom flat and getting furniture second hand and it was some of the best times of my life. I loved that flat, loved making it a home, had lots of good times and parties there! I don’t think I’m fundamentally happier now. However I’ve never been properly poor. I think if your reasonably comfortable that you can afford to live without much worry or sacrifice more money doesn’t necessarily make you happier but if your poor and every days a struggle then yes of course money will make you happier! I think it’s more true that being poor makes you unhappy, not that money makes you happy.

Beyond a certain level, no, money does not buy happiness. I’d venture also when you get older, time is more important than money. So is good health…without health, you are nothing.

Idle wealth with no purpose sounds dreadful.

I have some neighbours who are money and status obsessed…they are working all hours to afford a large house and are always looking at more property investments, having the “right” friends, the “right” car. It seems like most of what they do is motivated by making more money…the wife even described her family as a brand. I mean, ambition and wanting to do better is fine, but I’m not sure it is a good idea to let that alone dictate your life. My husband and I live in a nice smaller place, just right for us and have a lot of savings and financial security, and best of all time for each other. All that striving and materialistic desire isn’t worth giving up your life for. I guess to each their own.

Money didn't make me happy, it caused my unhappiness, however it does enable you to be miserable in comfort.

I agree.

I’ve never been truly poor but for much of my 20s and early 30s I earned less than £25k. 15 years later I earn about 4-5 times that amount; not rich but clearly very good income and comfortable.

I was generally happy when I earned less but earning substantially more has removed a lot of sources of anxiety. It meant I could buy a permanent home, meaning I’m settled and not reliant on the uncertainty of the private rental sector. I don’t worry about bills at all, they just get paid. If the boiler breaks down, I can afford to get it fixed immediately. DD went to a good nursery, not just the one we could afford. I don’t have to think about whether I can afford most day to day things, I just buy them. I have a private dentist and access to some private healthcare.

Am I always happy? Not always, but I’m much more innately content and settled, and many of life’s anxieties have been taken away.

I should add, that as I get older, good health is definitely the main consideration. I’m already starting to take steps to ensure
I'm as physically fit and well when I retire in two decades. That’s much more important than income alone.

Even if money doesn't always buy happiness, it can be a lot easier to cope with misery if you are rich, imo.

I can imaging becoming very rich very quickly could lead to real misery. Giving up a job, moving to a new area, potentially losing friends and relationships but struggling to find a place in a new community.

Happiness is probably harder to achieve in poverty though, because of poor health and the sheer exhaustion of having to juggle everything to get by.

Let me guess, you have a fairly comfortable lifestyle at the very least?

I do agree with you @EdgyRobin, but more importantly, I'd say that people who say money doesn't buy happiness have never been really poor.

I think the misery and anxiety that goes along with not being able to afford even the basics, the dread of an unexpected bill and the constant looming threat of homelessness or not being able to feed your children as a very real possibility will make you so much more unhappy than having "real" money will make someone happy.

Money would definitely buy my happiness! Mainly because I am already happy with my lot, but money would just make things feel easier, more secure and of course there would be less worry. Perhaps money doesn’t buy happiness for those that have always had it? But I think that if you’re ’new money’ it would definitely make you less miserable, at the very least! It wouldn’t alleviate things like isolation and loneliness though, two of the hardest things to live with

I always preferred the version “money doesn’t guarantee happiness, but lack of money guarantees unhappiness.”

Wrong, but what does my lifestyle have to do with anything?

I thought it was rich people who said that? As in ‘I have many of the same struggles as poor people’. Except you don’t also have the worry of paying bills and putting food in the table!

Money alone might not bring you happiness, but it sure as hell removes many of the barriers. If you’re inadequately housed and fed, and cold, and overworked, and continually worried about how to provide for yourself and your family - well, there’s little happiness in that.

They're right, money doesn't buy you happiness. Plenty of rich people are miserable, plenty of rich people end their own lives. Material things can't make you happy, thats why people are like hamsters on a wheel no mattter what they have. But lf course it's better to be rich than poor. Surely this is obvious 🤔

I think the phrase "the best labour saving device is money" is partly true.

For me and my family having enough money has meant living in a good sized house in a nice area and being able to educate our children privately. We've also supported them through university with no change in our lifestyle.

Because we pay people to do boring shit like cleaning, decorating and gardening we have quite a bit of leisure time and the money to do nice things like eating out, which we do as often as we want.

Whenever something breaks (washing machine, dishwasher and fridge in the past few years) we just replace it.

When our mortgage increased we could afford it. Likewise when gas and electricity prices went up, it was annoying (£500 a month at one point) but we could still pay. We do have a mortgage so we're not rich but we are definitely well off by my standards. And it makes our lives easier and therefore happier.

Of course it doesn't insulate us from illness, bereavement, sorrow or tragedy. Our children have had some mental health issues and we've had awful things happen in our lives. But I'd still rather have money than not.

I’ve had £25k of psychiatric treatment and can testify that money absolutely buys happiness!

Im sure it’s possible to be rich and have problems but your problems aren’t “how the fuck am I going to pay the rent?” or “how can I get a voucher for the Foodbank?”

Money buys choice, it doesn’t solve everything but it it’s a hell of a lot easier dealing with your problems in comfort! Money also buys health. Rich people live longer and they stay healthy longer, they have access to early screening tests and the very best healthcare without waiting lists. Rich people have good nutrition and time to take exercise.

I read there was a study years ago where they proved and disproved this sentiment at the same time. They discovered the subjects involved had greater happiness the more money they had (due to less stress and hardship, such as not worrying about bills, better health like dental and insurance, being able to enjoy normal daily life activities they previously couldn't such as not worrying about paying a food when out) up to 60k per year. After that though the increases had pretty much no noticeable effect on the main quality of life.

It might have been an American study (can't remember) so the amount is not necessarily wholly applicable everywhere in the world but I bet there is a number it plateaus at everywhere. Once you can afford all the basics you need you don't 'need' more but if you cannot afford those things you will struggle and thus feel the effects. With COL more and more are failing to meet basics now and its having a big effect.

The richer you are the more you are taken advantage of (you see this with CF coming out the wood work after big wins like the lottery) and that leads to loneliness, isolation and lack of trust in others motives though (which is seen a lot in celebrities). Why possibly historical classes formed with people sticking to those in similar circumstances to themselves.

Money doesn’t buy you happiness but poverty buys you nothing.

i was very poor for years and now I’m well off. It’s much much much better to have money. Has it fixed all my problems? No. But it’s fixed a hell of a lot. And a therapist I can complain about the stuff I can’t fix.

I suspect that people think if you are rich you ‘ought’ to be happy.

Because how else would you not “see” how it can bring happiness? I can think of at least 10 things that would make me happier with more money (from big ones to small ones) and I’m not even that badly off.

The evidence from The Spirit Level book is that rich people in very unequal societies are almost as depressed and anxious as the poor, whereas when the income and wealth gaps are smaller everyone is happier (and physically healthier too).

Money gives you other benefits (comfort, fun, removes stress/worry, material wealth) but does not provide the foundations of what fundamentally makes us as humans truly happy. You could have the biggest house, car, amazing holidays, designer wardrobes, but take away the foundations of what happiness means to you (family, friends, health, walks in nature etc) and it becomes vacuous. If wealth sits alongside an already happy life, then it absolutely compliments it.

That was your age and just starting out in life in your first home with the person you loved.

Not because of what money you had.

It's like people who look back fondly on getting one present and an apple and orange for Christmas. Because they were children with few if any responsibilties experiencing a nice and uncommon event so it's a nice memory.

The rest of the year where they had fuck-all was shit though.

I have fond memories of going out to pubs or nightclubs underage with a £5 or not money at all because you'd usually be able to get a drink or two bought for you. All your mates would be there and you'd chat and dance all night then walk home or someone's Mum would pick us up.

It was brilliant without money and I was happy because I was 16 and having a great night with my mates.