Does Money Make You Happy?

tossy

New Member
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]HI.

Guys I really want to know what every one thinks.

Because the old people like parents keep saying money don't make any one happy. I SAY how the hell!! If you own a big house, a nice fancy car, you can do what ever you want, eat what ever you like without thinking on the bill, Have holiday in very nice place and you sleep well because you don't think how you will spent the rest of the month without money. etc... How this don't make me happy?!

Tell me a logic reason, Not like my dad told me that when I was young.
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They are right.

Money doesn't make you happy. It gives you more options, which is good, but how many options do you need, and how much of your life do you want to devote to chasing them? How much money is enough?

Financially, there is a point below which life is uncomfortable and a slog (all other things being equal), and it makes sense to want to earn an amount that takes you above that level, which will vary from country to country.

But after that, it depends on how much you value that fast car, or that big house, and this will vary between individuals.

Personally, I've had huge fun from fast cars (I've just sold my beloved TVR), but I have more for much less money when I'm out boogieing at the weekend.

Ultimately, its not really about money, its about time, and how you spend that; your quality of life.

There is a difference between money as a means to an end (increasing your options); and money as an end in itself (not knowing when to stop); and that is the distinction the 'old people' are making.

Imagine you are on your deathbed - what do you want to think about what you did with your time on earth, and how important will "earned a lot of money" be as part of that?

For me, I value the time I spend with decent, interesting people far more than the time I spend earning money to pay for that extra social status.

But each to their own.
 

doom1701

Member
Money is just a "thing"--IMO, happiness is more a factor of what you are *doing*, not what you have. Yes, having money can allow you to do things that can make you happy--but if you can live comfortably and do the things you want with $50,000 a year, how much happier can having $500,000 a year make you?
 

wsong

Member
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]HI.

Guys I really want to know what every one thinks.

Because the old people like parents keep saying money don't make any one happy. I SAY how the hell!! If you own a big house, a nice fancy car, you can do what ever you want, eat what ever you like without thinking on the bill, Have holiday in very nice place and you sleep well because you don't think how you will spent the rest of the month without money. etc... How this don't make me happy?!

Tell me a logic reason, Not like my dad told me that when I was young.
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If someone gives me 1 million, I will be very happy. If someone wants me to work 16 hours a day in a dark room for 10 years and give me 20 million as an compensation. I will not accept. It all depends on what you pay and what you get.
 

MrMoo

Member
So the facilities/things make you happy, and money is just a means to that happiness. So money by itself doesn't make you happy.
 

abeen

New Member
So the facilities/things make you happy, and money is just a means to that happiness. So money by itself doesn't make you happy.

I can't eat money, i can't wear money. Money buys foods, money buys clothes. Those things make me HAPPY, ultimately it is MONEY that is making me happy. Money is not money if it does not value. It is just like a paper which do not buy anything.
 

MrMoo

Member
Well you could eat and wear money but they would not really be functional in either regard. Money is a means to an end but the end itself is what makes you happy. Think about watching football/hockey with your buddies when you're poorer and have a small tv and live in a cheap apartment you are happy to hang out with them, drink beer and enjoy the game. When you get a better job, get a better place and a better TV do you suddenly become happier when you hang out with those friends? If not then how did the extra money make you happy? I understand what you're saying about money got you the small tv and cheap apartment and cheap beer but if I bartered for those things or was given them, and money played no part in the exchanges I would still be happy.
 

abeen

New Member
Well you could eat and wear money but they would not really be functional in either regard. Money is a means to an end but the end itself is what makes you happy. Think about watching football/hockey with your buddies when you're poorer and have a small tv and live in a cheap apartment you are happy to hang out with them, drink beer and enjoy the game. When you get a better job, get a better place and a better TV do you suddenly become happier when you hang out with those friends? If not then how did the extra money make you happy? I understand what you're saying about money got you the small tv and cheap apartment and cheap beer but if I bartered for those things or was given them, and money played no part in the exchanges I would still be happy.

You can be happy with the end results with small tv, friends, cheap vodka and I am not you. But definitely agree that money is the means to drive the happiness to the results. Money would not be there, no cricket match, no baseball, no football, no snooker, no musical concert, no frens around, no end results, no happiness. All i'm saying is money gives all those comforts, more money, more comfort is demanded, the hirerachy of satisfaction with money is never ending.

http://twitter.com/abeen
 

MrMoo

Member
You can be happy with the end results with small tv, friends, cheap vodka and I am not you. But definitely agree that money is the means to drive the happiness to the results. Money would not be there, no cricket match, no baseball, no football, no snooker, no musical concert, no frens around, no end results, no happiness. All i'm saying is money gives all those comforts, more money, more comfort is demanded, the hirerachy of satisfaction with money is never ending.

http://twitter.com/abeen

I think there would still be music and hopefully my friends without money, those things cost nothing really. You can make music with anything, a couple of pots, an old jug, a washing board and if your friends bail when ya have no money well I don't think I want those friends. Also if the heirarchy of satisfaction is never ending how are you ever really happy. I mean if you're at your current level but always wanting to get to the next level you're not really happy at your current level, so when would you ever really be happy?
 

abeen

New Member
I think there would still be music and hopefully my friends without money, those things cost nothing really. You can make music with anything, a couple of pots, an old jug, a washing board and if your friends bail when ya have no money well I don't think I want those friends. Also if the heirarchy of satisfaction is never ending how are you ever really happy. I mean if you're at your current level but always wanting to get to the next level you're not really happy at your current level, so when would you ever really be happy?


I know, even the blowing wind creates music. But if i'm inside a jail, I don't hear that music of wind, but if I got million $ lottery, I whistle with that blowing wind. I see hierarchy as steps to success and so be content with life. If I earn 1000 $ per hour and look at what I was earning before say $ 100, that would mean, I am a happy person now wid 1000 $. All concludes me is money, one step of happiness is money, another steps is money.

http://twitter.com/abeen
 

ezequiel

Member
Well, being poor is awful.

So, I think I would be happier with more money: I would sleep better, mi children could go to a better school, we may live in a nicer place.

Yes, I think money make people happy.

Happier, at least.
 

MrMoo

Member
I have worked since I was young and have always had money in my pocket and the best memories I have are ones that didn't take money, sharing a laugh and a beer with my cousin or holding my brothers first kid in my arms. Those things have no cost/no monetary value and those things make me happy. Money does allow you to do things that make you happy but it is not the money itself that makes you happy, it's the things you do with your money.
 
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