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

[EdgyRobin]

Poor people romanticising struggle is weird.

I think if you truly think the money buys happinesses then you are privileged as you don't have things going on in your life that money won't fix.

I think that most people's problems in life could be improved or solved by throwing money at it.
I think that there is a level of richness that once achieved, it doesnt improve any more though

I think it’s the opposite actually. I think the ones using this phrase are people who have never experienced the true misery of poverty.

I think it should be 'money doesn't necessarily buy happiness,' and it's true. Look at the amount of famous people/celebrities who are rich and privileged who end up taking their own life/dying of drug overdoses etc...

That said, of course it's daft to say being poor is better than being financially well off. As pps have said, you could have better housing, better health care, lovely holidays, give some money to your charity(s) of choice, and you could travel, and also help people who need it. You could also give up your job, and do something you enjoy for a living/turn a hobby into a career... Or just not work, and chill out for the rest of your life! (If you had a decent sum of money!)

I (and DH) have been on the bones of our arse, 1000s of £££ in debt, and struggled desperately financially for a number of years. For the last 10 years we have been comfortable, and now have a mid 5-figure sum in the bank in savings.

I know which I prefer.

I grew up very poor and am now much better off. I would say that money doesn't directly buy happiness. Happiness is often somewhat innate and I know many people with a lot of money who are miserable. Money however can remove a lot of the obstacles to happiness it can buy relative comfort, a decent home, decent food, leisure time, security and so on. money becomes a resource just like any other something you can make plans with, in a bad situation money can usually get out out of it.

It might be more apt to say that poverty brings with a lot of stress that goes on to breed unhappiness. Many marriages are burdened with the stresses of poverty or not being able to make ends meet, feeling trapped in substandard accommodation in a bad area, eating bad food and so on.

Well obviously. That doesn’t mean many of them can’t be offloaded.

it is much easier to deal with cancer, serious grief, get through a divorce, or any number of difficulties, if you can throw money at annoying things like keeping the house reasonably clean and finding healthy food.

Often the ones that really matter can’t be offloaded though. Money won’t make the cancer go away or bring a person back from the dead. The unhappiness in those situations cannot be bought off, even if money can make your life practically easier (whilst you work through your illness of your grief).

I think it's a way to self-comfort if people haven't got much money. You see the same sort reaction when someone is envious of another person's lifestyle, or appearance, or house etc. They say 'yes, but you can never tell if they're really happy or not. You don't know what they may be going through.' It's almost hoping that that person is miserable as sin and suffering in some way to satisfy the sense of injustice and unfairness inside themselves.

Money can make cancer go away. We saw recently how the royal family had access to treatments not available to the public

For most people (in this country) money is not the limiting factor when it comes to treating terminal diseases (although I agree that in some rare situations there might be a new treatment not funded by the NHS which might help someone who can afford to fund it).

I think the glass half full or empty philosophy also prevails here. Some people can always find a silver lining and be grateful for what they have, however little, and some simply can't.

I have always had money. DH has added to our wealth significantly.

No amount of money would have prevented ds2 from having a congenital heart malformation, incompatible with life which is why he died after a few hours when he was born at 27 weeks.

It was, I imagine, easier to bear because we could afford a proper funeral, and during the next year when I was quickly pregnant again, we could afford an au-pair to help me and for ds, then 2.5 to go to nursery for five sessions a week.

It was a miserable time and a very stressful and high risk pregnancy. It would have been significantly worse if we had had money worries and if I had had no help. I have always been thankful and feel that lucky that dd arrived 51 weeks later.

“More money,more problems”, they are just different problems, and you would be very naive to think otherwise!