Money doesn't buy you happiness

Disclaimer...I am terminally unambitious and prone to laziness.

More money would make me happier but not if I had to work more/harder/be stressed to get it. Without a lottery win I am happy to drive a Dacia and ride a cheap bike. So in answer to your question, yes and no

Money doesn't buy happiness was a lie spread by the rich to stop the poor wanting a peice of their pie.

Some of the most messed up people I've known have been the richest - family net worth of hundreds of millions but totally dysfunctional.

I think there is a sweet spot in the middle. Rich people seem to spend a lot of time worrying about money, as do poor people (more understandably). Enough to pay the bills, buy toys and go on holiday. Not so much it over shadows your life. 

Some of the most messed up people I've known have been the richest - family net worth of hundreds of millions but totally dysfunctional.

Is that the same thing though?

Isn't that "lots of money doesn't necessarily buy you happiness"?

Money is like oxygen.

It's only important when you don't have enough.

For years I lived paycheck to paycheck. There was a time when this month's salary would just pay off the overdraft and we would have to start digging again. It was relentless, but I had a good life and a stable family and I was happy.

Now I am older and I have enough. I earn more, have less outgoings (mortgage paid off and kids left home). Am I happier probably, but not much. Am I less stressed - hell yes!!

I am terminally unambitious and prone to laziness. More money would make me happier but not if I had to work more/harder/be stressed to get it. Without a lottery win I am happy to drive a Dacia and ride a cheap bike

This pretty much sums me up.  I always counter the "money doesn't make you happy" part with "...but poverty can definitely make you miserable".

I reckon I'd be happier with more money in my current situation. But then I wouldn't have cool bikes.

But in all seriousness, I'm pretty sure most people worry about money on a daily basis. Not millions to fund an extravagant life, but enough where you can just do work a normal job day to day without worrying about covering bills and a normal life.

As some Charlie put it quite well a hundred or so years ago...

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.

Money is like oxygen.

 

It's only important when you don't have enough.

Bullseye

Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.

I often joke that I need a lottery win, and a big euro lotto roll over, but in truth more than a couple of million would probably really screw you up. That said, a few million to pay off the mortgage, set the kids up, help out the extended family, would probably make me happy.....I would hope. Right, I'm off to buy a lottery ticket!

Money can't buy happiness but it does allow you to be miserable in style 

Someone once said that sex was like oxygen, it's only important when you're not getting enough. Applied equally as well to money.

Wife came home from work where she works with a couple of young ladies half her age and the conversation revolved around budgeting for the weekly food shop. I feel quite fortunate that we buy what we want. Not the humble brag it sounds, we just live within our means. I doubt we eat out more than once a month and if we want to watch something on Disney, we cancel Apple. We're comfortable but not rolling in it.

I do doubt that if things continue to follow their current trajectory, those 35 years behind me will not get to enjoy the security I do. Similarly, I'll never enjoy the final salary pension lifestyle of those ahead of me who worked the same industry..

Something interesting I heard recently. There is enough money in America to solve all the homelessness and poverty. It would only need to take money from BILLIONAIRES to achieve this and would still leave each of them with enough money to continue being billionaires 

Posted by: doris5000

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I am terminally unambitious and prone to laziness. More money would make me happier but not if I had to work more/harder/be stressed to get it. Without a lottery win I am happy to drive a Dacia and ride a cheap bike

Yep, that. I earn less than the national average, about half the average on that poll.

I have an old rusty van, a nice but small flat in the Tweed Valley, a few nice but old bikes and can go abroad once or twice a year.

I finish work at 5pm every day, apart from Friday when it's 1pm and never do a weekend 

I could earn more if I worked harder but why would I? I earn what I need for what I think is a good quality of life, why would I want to put more effort/stress into work? It would leave me less time and energy to enjoy things. The only advantage I can see is that I could retire earlier but that's not guaranteed so I'm going to enjoy myself while I can.

Having said that I worry about how to pay for a trip to Portugal rather than where lunch is coming from so there are degrees to this

More money (if it were to magically appear in my account) would certainly improve my happiness. 

Barring a lottery win though, the real world means that said extra money would come in exchange for time and stress that I really don’t want, and would likely reduce overall happiness. 

I’m of the camp your more likely to be happier with it  but the flipside question is how much is enough 🙂

John D. Rockefeller, the founder of the Standard Oil Company, the first billionaire of the United States of America and once the richest man on Earth was asked by a reporter, “How much money is enough?” He calmly replied, “Just a little bit more”

Posted by: andy8442

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That said, a few million to pay off the mortgage, set the kids up, help out the extended family, would probably make me happy

Where the **** do you live, Balmoral? 

I think the OP situation is different. I think having to live on less having had more is difficult. We are in the opposite position where expenditure has dropped massively. The mortgage is gone as are the kids. The single biggest  benefit is not having to worry about money. We still run 2 rust buckets and the house looks like summer students just moved out. But when the hob and oven went in the same week being able to replace them without pause for thought is priceless

Obviously this has been studied loads but obviously being poor is really miserable. 

verasatium did a video on happyness that covers this

What money does buy is choices. 

What it can never buy is the wisdom to make those choices good ones. 

Minimum wage doesn't buy you happiness. HTH.

more than a couple of million would probably really screw you up.

I'm willing to take that risk! Just need to actually buy a ticket... but it feels like a big con so dont bother.

Where the **** do you live, Balmoral?

Well, they did say

set the kids up,

Maybe living in a shoe?

Having money stops you worrying about not having money. Everything else is down to lifestyle and values.

I reckon I was happiest when I was a poor student. But then thinking about it, i was also young.

Posted by: beej

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Having money stops you worrying about not having money. Everything else is down to lifestyle and values.

Especially when you’re retired! Having a significant amount of money available means that things like house maintenance becomes something that can be carried out without even thinking about it. 
Then being miserable becomes a lifestyle choice!

This has been studied hasn't it? And IIRC the finding was that money does  indeed make you happier up to a point, and after that it has no effect on your happiness either way. And IIRC even more, that point was lower than you might think.

Although this could just be a different expression of not having enough money making you unhappy, 

So I have earnt more but at the expense of overtime weekends and nights. I'm currently happy not earning as much as I could but not working as much, doing enough overtime to be seen to be doing my bit. 

Where I'm at (comfortable) enabled my wife to have a career break  for child no2 until he started nursery (3) then work reduced hours. 

When I was younger I was living Friday pay to Friday pay and usually by Wednesday I was down to putting £5 at time Of petrol in the car. But I was young single and enjoying Edinburghs extended licensing hours during the festival. 

More money would make me happier but not if I had to work more/harder/be stressed to get it.

I think the magic number used to be £50,000 - that is to say there were surveys a few years ago where people were asked if they could earn any amount of money (ie work for, rather than just win or be given any amount of money)  how much would they want and the most popular answer was £50k as seemingly most people felt earning more than that would necessarily come with more work/expectation/responsibility than they'd be happy to have in their lives.

I'm not sure if its a survey thats frequently repeated but it would be interesting if that '£50k' has shifted at all over time

Due to a recent promotion, I might, finally, at 44, be able to not live pay check to pay check.  

I do live somewhere nice, but I don’t have an extravagant lifestyle (22y old car, a holiday every 2 years, few hobbies and fewer nights out, cycle everywhere) but I might finally not have to check my bank balance every few days to make sure it’s all working out, might not have to exhaustively plan and map out EVERY SINGLE PURCHASE that’s not groceries.  This will be a blessed relief.  

Simple things like buying the kids a new book rather than having to ask them to wait, coming home and looking for a SH one on eBay and promising it will be here soon - that kind of thing.

Will it make me happier?  I really hope so.  Being broke gets me down, so maybe this will help.  Not happiness but less misery and worry.    

What makes you happy is agency and control over your life - in other words to be able to do the things you want to do.  Money can help that, but if you don't want much then money won't help.  If you don't have much else to do then you might not mind going to work, but if all you want to do is ride your bike then having to go to work stops you doing that - you don't have agency to do what you want to do. In that case, money would make you happy because it would enable you to ride your bike all day rather than work.  If you want to say, teach kids, then you don't need a lot of money because teaching kids is a paying job.

I would say that having lots of money won't necessarily make you happy. Having too little certainly won't. However, you could be content in either of those scenarios 🤔 

Will it make me happier?  I really hope so.  Being broke gets me down, so maybe this will help.

It will. I was broke until about 40 and I still get genuine pleasure from being able to get £20 out of the cash machine without checking my balance first, or buying the organic eggs without worrying about the cost. It's ****ing brilliant.

It also doesn't buy you taste judging by the monstrous carbuncles masquerading as houses we saw in Croyde last week 🙄

I'm sure I read a study years back in New Scientist which said that something life changing like a large lottery win does make you happier... for about 3 months. Then you return to previous happiness level. 

I think if you're the type not to be happy with what you have, to compare yourself to others, well - there will always be someone who has more than you, a bigger yacht for sale than you can afford.

I'm not that way inclined, my car is an old-ish Skoda, my 2 good bikes were each about £1500 new (now 4-5 years old)... but I'm willing to take the risk of being no happier after a large EuroMillions win for the sake of science 😉

 I still get genuine pleasure from being able to get £20 out of the cash machine without checking my balance first, or buying the organic eggs without worrying about the cost. It's ****ing brilliant.

I was thinking similar the other day. I can't afford to drive new cars for instance but a simple thing like being able to walk around a supermarket and just get whatever food I fancy is great. I'm happy with that. 

Never had more than a few £100 showing in the bank at any point in my life, currently have £187 but pip and disability goes in next week so that’s plenty to see me through. Only time I “sorta” had money/cash to actually spend on “doing things/stuff” was when I grew weed from mid 90’s to 2010 ish but not stupid money….perhaps a £12k/yr boost at most to my min wage job at the time, coulda been more but I gave 50% of my weed to the Scottish medicinal cannabis co-op who gave it to cancer/spinal/glaucoma patients etc.  

Always been happy with what  I  have, lived from week to week and had  the type of  of jobs I  can pick up/drop off at a whim and go do  whatever  I liked.

Spent most of the 90’s/2000’s riding my bike/outdoor stuff/clubbing/music related stuff, never well paid but looking back from my current situation I wouldn’t change a thing 

There are also things that can cost nothing that can make one happy.

Spring flowers in the park.  Sunset walk on a beach etc

Posted by: tjagain

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There are also things that can cost nothing that can make one happy.

 

Spring flowers in the park.  Sunset walk on a beach etc

Why does it have to be such wholesome stuff TJ? What about coke and hookers? Can't they make people happy too? 😉 

Coke and hookers aren't cheap though... Although I guess that varies depending on where you are (Las Vegas and Southend - the only two places where you can pay for sex with chips🤣)

What does happy actually mean and how is it measured.  I am happy one day and less happy another day due to a variety of things which pretty much have nothing to do with money.   Having money can reduce worry, allow you to do what you want etc, but won’t necessarily bring any noticeable increase in daily happiness.  

I suppose it increases the number of minutes where you are in a happy state in a given day but if that was only 10 minutes in 24 hours how much difference is that?

What does happy actually mean and how is it measured.  I am happy one day and less happy another day due to a variety of things which pretty much have nothing to do with money.

This is a whole value:price thing though, isn’t it.  You have the freedom to ignore the price of something and simply to enjoy its value.  Imagine if your whole world, every choice you made had to first calculated to see what the cost was.  

Those with little money have little choice and the value is always or at least usually subservient to the price.  It’s not a nice way to live.  If you can flip that relationship, I think this is where money can actually make you happy.  

As others have said, less miserable, more choice, more freedom.  Not total freedom, but a lot more of it.

We have enough money to afford a dog and to feed him well / cover vets bills etc.

On a £ per happiness ratio it is the best 'thing' we (or certainly me) have ever done.

Posted by: tjagain

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Spring flowers in the park.  Sunset walk on a beach etc

I agree with that, what money could provide is having more time to do those things. 

I won’t be able to retire till I’m 67 and even then I’m not sure if it will be affordable. I have always said give me a million and we could retire, pay off mortgage which is small admittedly and some other debt, pay someone to complete the refurb of our flat possibly, although I would then have the time to do it myself! Leave us with 800,000, hopefully earn 5% on that, 40K with no debt would be just about manageable. 
However it wouldn’t afford us a lavish lifestyle but we would have time to ride, walk, play a bit of golf and maybe some casual work or volunteering. Holidays for us are usually Scotland, The Lakes or Dale’s those kind of things so having a bit more time to explore the UK would also be great.

I have never understood why when you have enough money to retire that you don’t, you just work more and accumulate more.
I think that money provides choices and time.

I think having money gives you more options / flexibility and less stress.

However I think to earn lots of money means you have to work very hard which equals less options / flexibility and more stress

I think there does become a point though where money becomes meaningless and people can afford everything without having to think if they can afford it. At that point I think happiness actually will go down 

No mortgage would make the biggest difference to my quality of life without heading in to lottery win territory.

There are also things that can cost nothing that can make one happy.

 

Spring flowers in the park. Sunset walk on a beach e

tc

I suspect that these are also related to money in that they could make you happy but if you are in the red they might not unless you have a supreme ability to disengage different parts of your life.  You need enough money to keep your head above water otherwise all your energy is spend on paddling furiously 

I have never understood why when you have enough money to retire that you don’t, you just work more and accumulate more.

it’s back my fave question of how much is enough 🙂

It’s actually a hard one, unless you have a stunning pension if you stop working there’s no guarantee you can just pick up from where  you left if you do leave and decide later you want to resume working.

I honestly think that you can never accumulate enough as there are too many variables but then  piling all your money into a fantastic pension that you may never get the benefit of 🙁

Leave us with 800,000, hopefully earn 5% on that, 40K with no debt would be just about manageable.

this does assume, I think, that you would plan to leave an approx 800k inheritance to someone, plus your property. If you were to just leave the property you could also draw down the capital by somewhere around 20k a year, especially in the first 10 or so years of retirement and probably never run out. 

However I think to earn lots of money means you have to work very hard which equals less options / flexibility and more stress

I think that’s the biggest lie ever perpetuated by the rich who don’t want you to realise it’s luck or who you know. 🙂

My partner is a psychiatrist - all her clients are loaded beyond what we (well, I) can imagine. And they are ****ed up. Especially the ones from rich families who didn't have to work for it. So it's true. It can't buy you happiness but it can buy you appointments with a top psychiatric hospital and all the drugs you need to live in oblivion. Joy