The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

Money Buys Happiness

Zcott

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
213%
Jul 24, 2018
303
645
Money buys happiness, but only to a certain level.

I know people with comfortable lives who say money doesn't buy happiness. Either as some sort of generic cliche about life and/or they have enough money and are just unhappy. But try going up to a parent who works 70 hours a week in a low paying job to put food on the table, never sees his family because he is away working and tell them that money won't make them happy.

With money buying happiness to a certain level, there was a study which results said that when you earn more than $75,000 a year is when money stops having an impact on how happy you are. That is when I think it becomes about you, your impact and what value you provide. It's an exaggerated example, But I remember hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger saying he was no happier when he had $40m compared to when he had $30m.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,510
Utah
With money buying happiness to a certain level, there was a study which results said that when you earn more than $75,000 a year is when money stops having an impact on how happy you are.

Ha Ha, yea sure. That study is a joke. Either it was flawed, or the people they studied were flat out liars. Struggling to pay for health care, a shitty bronze-plan with a $6,600 deductable no less, is such a joy.

"Money doesn't buy happiness"
-Jealous douche without any.

Gonna meme this into permanence...
 

Zcott

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
213%
Jul 24, 2018
303
645
Ha Ha, yea sure. That study is a joke. Either it was flawed, or the people they studied were flat out liars. Struggling to pay for health care, a shitty bronze-plan with a $6,600 deductable no less, is such a joy.

I admit I never really believed that study when I've seen it cited. I don't know what questions they were asked or if people who earn >$75k were of the view that that is as good as it gets, but I'm pretty sure complete autonomy of one's life and financial freedom is what makes people really happy.
 

Vigilante

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
596%
Oct 31, 2011
11,116
66,265
Gulf Coast
I admit I never really believed that study when I've seen it cited. I don't know what questions they were asked or if people who earn >$75k were of the view that that is as good as it gets, but I'm pretty sure complete autonomy of one's life and financial freedom is what makes people really happy.

@Kak Spends more than that on carpaccio every year
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

GlobalWealth

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
225%
Sep 6, 2009
2,582
5,818
Latvia
Stress is the enemy of happiness.

Money eliminates a lot of stress, thus allowing happiness to become the default.

Of course money also can create a lot of stress. Luckily when you have money you can hire people to deal with most of that bullshit.


Sent from my VTR-L29 using Tapatalk
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Primer

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
215%
Aug 3, 2018
41
88
I just took a drive along the Northwest shore of Maui with my son.

We checked out the private residences at the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua, Maui.

And I conclude and propose to you that whom ever says that money doesn't buy happiness...

never tasted it much less possessed it.

I can conclusively and factually say that someone living in some sh*t hole in downtown Detroit in the middle of winter will never be as happy as I will be living in a debt free penthouse on the northern coast of Maui. The ONLY differentiating factor in that equation is money.

Money buys happiness.

I would argue that money buys freedom. And freedom = happiness.
 

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,510
Utah
Money buys freedom.

Saying "money doesn't buy happiness" is like saying incarceration is perfectly tolerable.

stencil.instagram-photo(1).jpg
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

StevieB

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
269%
Jan 23, 2016
200
537
43
Money gives you options.

The option to never work another job you hate for the rest of your life.

The option to live were you want.

The option to travel were and when you want.

The option to never have to deal with someone you don't want to.

The option to change the world.

The option to help others in ways you wouldn't be able to if you didn't have money.

BUT it also gives you :

The option to purchase coke every day.

The option to destroy other peoples lives.

The option to develop habits that require lots of money, and not make enough to support them.

So end up flat broke again.


Yes money can help to lead toward a happy lifestyle, but it can also lead toward a destructive lifestyle. Money buys happiness but there are also other sides to the same coin. If you did something to make a lot of money, never to be repeated, so you "passed your peak" that drives some people to suicide (Kodak inventor).


Also money is not the *only* way to a happy life. A happy life is ultimately determined by your thoughts, which you don't need money to control. But it's hard to be happy if you live in the dumps and can barely afford food. But again it's a matter of perspective and how you view your life and what you're doing with it.

Money can absolutely buy most people a happier life, so long as they have a good outlook and other areas of their life are healthy. Such as love, friends and family.

Supposedly Buddhists Monks are some of the happiest people in the world and they have very little money, however they also don't have the stress of worrying about shelter and food.

Personally nothing would make me happier than not having to work a 9-5 again ever.
 

masterneme

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
256%
Apr 13, 2015
320
819
41
Give money to douches who say that money doesn't buy happiness and they'll spend it all and become miserable just to prove you wrong.

Isn't there a "famous" study saying that lottery winners do exactly this?


Money buys happiness...
...unless you're a moron.

-masterneme. 2018.
 

Edwin Fernandez

Freedom
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
157%
Feb 7, 2018
65
102
When I have enough money saved up, ~50K+, I will quit my soul sucking job, move to a 2nd world/3rd world country to make the money last longer, spend more precious time with my kids while building my Fastlane business. Um yeah, in this system of things money buys autonomy and choices and keeps spouses happy.

Money (spent correctly) = Freedom = Happiness
 

GPM

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
376%
Oct 25, 2012
2,067
7,775
Canada
Absolutely it does. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool.

The act of chasing money for the sake of money probably won't make you happy. But having money absolutely will. The act of blowing the doors off of industry because it is stimulation and also happens to results in wheelbarrows full of cash is like a triple-whammy of happiness.
 

Everyman

Get To The Choppa!
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
178%
Dec 31, 2015
328
584
Ireland
But I remember hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger saying he was no happier when he had $40m compared to when he had $30m.

I think somebody wrote it here. He was using sarcasm there.

"Money doesn't buy happiness"
-Jealous douche without any.

Money buys freedom.

Saying "money doesn't buy happiness" is like saying incarceration is perfectly tolerable.

View attachment 20649

I hope you don't mind I challenge you on these a little bit.

Funny-Facebook-Status-16473-statusmind.com.jpg


We could probably rephrase to "Money can buy happiness".
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

lucasb

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
104%
Jun 5, 2018
23
24
About money if it makes you happy or not.
It is a badly raised issue, the correct approach is whether it is important to be happy.

I think that it is, because it gives security, which is what I bet on fear. And without fear we are calm, protected.
That is in my opinion happiness.

What Dj Demarco proposes is to find a way to achieve a lot of money that ends up giving us an income with which we live a quiet and comfortable life.

I do not know if it's happiness, but it sure creates the basis to be happy.

That is the final goal, the process while one is achieving things, and reaching the final goal is also happiness.

In a book by Tracy, he refers to an Aristoteles quote:

"Happiness is the progressive fulfillment of a valuable ideal"
 

Vigilante

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
596%
Oct 31, 2011
11,116
66,265
Gulf Coast
A4F2CFE7-FA4B-4C02-A17A-9FFCE4894A2B.jpeg Another day, another Ritz Carlton. This time we are on the Atlantic coast . I just came up from the poolside cabana to sit in the air-conditioning for a while because this afternoon will go down to the water where they have a Oceanside set up waiting for us. Will head up to the concierge lounge for a late lunch before we head back down to the ocean to catch the afternoon waves. cancel the reservation for the five star restaurant tonight ... it was awesome last night but I don’t need that two days in a row especially after sitting in the sun all day . We will do something casual this evening and then head down to catch the sunset .

Having been on both sides of the equation I can tell you it beats the F*ck out of the kiddy pool at the YMCA with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from your igloo cooler .
 

ZCP

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
336%
Oct 22, 2010
3,952
13,267
Woodstock, GA

The Abundant Man

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
150%
Jul 3, 2018
1,428
2,140
Why wait?

Have you done everything you could today to make that happen?
Right...that's slow lane thinking. It will at least take years to save up 50k. Sure follow the Money Moustache method of being frugal.

The point whole is you use your "soul-sucking" job to fuel your fastlane business. Once you start making more with your business or passive income or whatever than your job then you can quit.

During the time when you're not working at your job, you use that time to build your fastlane.

Go back to MJ's Egyptian story where the older cousin took so much time and effort to build the Pyramid while the younger cousin built a system to build the Pyramid. It took him about 1/3 of the time.
 
Last edited:

SquatchMan

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
383%
Dec 27, 2016
452
1,731
Nowhere
I think some of the confusion comes from most people viewing money as a 1:1 trade of time. So they figure more money = more time at work and less time doing "happy" stuff.

Honestly though, most of the people that say "money can't buy happiness" are using it to protect their ego. If you think all rich people are unhappy, then it makes it easy to justify your lack of wealth.

That is why I just smile and nod whenever I hear someone say that line.
 

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,510
Utah

Edwin Fernandez

Freedom
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
157%
Feb 7, 2018
65
102
Why wait?

Have you done everything you could today to make that happen?

Honestly, I feel like trapped and in no position to quit my job, yet. Wife, two little kids, crazy expensive apartment rates around here, $1,750 for a 1 bedroom box, 50K student loan debt, ( feel like I was suckered into the college Script, I learned the truth about the Script after graduating, sadly...)

I am looking for a lane to get there. I am WIDE open to any advice, thank you.

Right...that's slow lane thinking. It will at least take years to save up 50k. Sure follow the Money Moustache method of being frugal.

The point whole is you use your "soul-sucking" job to fuel your fastlane business. Once you start making more with your business or passive income or whatever than your job then you can quit.

During the time when you're not working at your job, you use that time to build your fastlane.

Go back to MJ's Egyptian story where the older cousin took so much time and effort to build the Pyramid while the younger cousin built a system to build the Pyramid. It took him about 1/3 of the time.

You are right man, it is "slowlane thinking". I have started working on a web dev business in my VERY limited free time, about 1-2 hours a night, and on the weekends. I got 2 paying clients. But I realized I am totally violating the time commandment. So I took a step back and am looking for other ways to help people.

I've become obsessed with achieving my dreams of freedom and autonomy, to the point of neglecting my kids at times, and it burns me up inside. I probably just need to be more efficient. I haven't watched t.v. or played video games in years, literally...
 

Zcott

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
213%
Jul 24, 2018
303
645
I never got why people thought it's a clear cut option of rich = unhappy and not rich = happy. Those on low and middle income do not have a monopoly on happiness.
 

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,510
Utah
I got 2 paying clients. But I realized I am totally violating the time commandment.

Woah, that's a great start. Be proud my friend. I wouldn't be too concerned about the TIME COMMANDMENT. Just face facts: Escaping prison will take a LOT OF TIME. So stop worrying about commandments and start chipping away at the prison walls.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Edwin Fernandez

Freedom
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
157%
Feb 7, 2018
65
102
Woah, that's a great start. Be proud my friend. I wouldn't be too concerned about the TIME COMMANDMENT. Just face facts: Escaping prison will take a LOT OF TIME. So stop worrying about commandments and start chipping away at the prison walls.

Thank you for your reply MJ, it's encouraging. You are right, I need to just stfu and keep chipping away while keeping in mind it is a marathon not a sprint, thanks.
 

Kak

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
493%
Jan 23, 2011
9,678
47,666
34
Texas
I am glad someone bumped this thread. I think it needs further discussion.
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top