Money Buys Happiness

[Vigilante]

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 shit 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.

 

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[Vigilante]

I read each of your posts, and appreciate the insight from each. One of the most salient points is that happiness changes like an emotion. There's an ebb and flow.

My premise is simple. On any given day, I am happier when I have 1k in my wallet than if I had zero in my wallet and bills to pay. I am happier with zero debt (definitely interlinked to cash flow). I absolutely am happier when I can afford to drink Pellegrino, eat sushi, and drink Mai Tais than if I couldn't. One of the biggest rushes in the world is to give away money. I had an amazing experience a few weeks ago in that regard... but I had to have the money to begin with in order to give it away.

Money is part of identity, whether we like to acknowledge that or not. Where you work, where you live, what you drive, how you dress, what you eat, what you give... these are all superficial aspects of identity but part of identity none the less. Hidden wealth is one of the coolest aspects of wealth - when you don't allow people to judge you by your material possessions by downplaying them intentionally. However, every single one of us assesses others in part because of these superficial aspects of identity.

We talk in this forum, for example, about posers. People driving luxury cars that are not paid for. That wanna be lifestyle is part of that person's identity. Traveling the world after cashing in of a fastlane business becomes part of your identity. Living on Maui... becomes part of your identity.

You can give me spiritual, intellectual, and slowlane arguments that advocate the virtue of happiness absent of money, and I can agree with you. There's an argument to be made for a fisherman in Uganda who has never had a dollar in his life, and never had a single possession. That guy can absolutely be content/happy. I have learned to be content in all circumstances.

I have a friend whose little girl is terminal. I have encouraged them to raise as much as money as possible for research and clinical trials. Money buys access to uncommon resources, and access that they could otherwise not get to the best research minds in the country. Even in cases of tremendous grief and sadness and difficulty (such as illness) money provides for a better navigable control of that situation than if you had none. The hypothetical ability to trade money for health doesn't exist... (ask Steve Jobs)... but it provides better comfort, better information, and better medicine than the absence of money. Money can make the afflicted happier.

There's a fundamental and universal fact that money enables you to eliminate stresses that those without it are required to endure. I would be happier on a yacht in the Pacific ocean watching dolphins play than I would sitting in a slum in New York City. The yacht increases my happiness, and requires money.

Money provides peace of mind, eliminates stresses, and enhances enjoyment of things in life that contribute to happiness.

 

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[Kak]

I hate when people try to soften the edge of "money buys happiness" because it sounds bad. Because its taboo.

Honestly, money makes you a better person overall. Why? Because by nature making money means you are probably providing value and jobs to many.

The actual money itself? It's a lifeless object. It doesn't amplify traits. It's fiat. You are still subject to your own decisions. Your decisions are still what make you who you are.

Personally I'm not afraid to admit that I'm happier when more money is coming in. That means my work is paying off. It means I can enjoy more of what I work hard for.

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

 

[GlobalWealth]

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

 

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[Vigilante]

When this is your hotel room (for now) but your motivation to scale your next one even bigger so you can just buy the life permanently...

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Money buys freedom.

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

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

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...

 

[Kak]

Simple pleasure...

We have a "reverse osmosis" system at home so I've had no reason to buy bottled water for the last few years.

A few days ago, I asked myself why I give a damn about not drinking bottled water like it was some kind of wasteful expense. I enjoy it. It's convenient. So I went to Costco and bought 3 of cases of Perrier. A simple pleasure and probably 20-30 bucks a month to me.

My next "I shouldn't be acting poor" item is lasik. I don't like sticking my fingers in my eyes and my glasses bug me so I walk around nearsighted a lot.

 

[Kak]

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a-V9_gmNwH4


Money. Buys. Happiness.

 

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[Vigilante]

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 .

 

[Rethagos]

The root of unhapiness is fear.
Uncertainty of future, fear of illness or death, dependence and lack of control over various aspects of life, etc.
Money helps to alleviate those fears. That is pretty much similar to "buying happiness".

The means, however, of attaining said money... this one is a different story.
Same goes for the way of using it.

 

[Kak]

@Kak Spends more than that on carpaccio every year

It’s keto.

 

[puckman]

My premise is simple.

it is very simple. its such a blatant fact of life and law of reality. its a real mystery to me, the resistance to such a simple statement, 'money provides more happiness.' The resistance to this fact is more of a statement of our society, a result of what people consume in the media, a gov't & pop culture that eschews hard work and self reliance, the individual. We have all been taught since public grade school that people with money are greedy immoral dirtbags.

The presupposition is that, if you have enough money to cover the basic necessities in life like, food, shelter, health, etc, that you somehow earned it erroneously, that you are flawed or immoral, that you earned your money in an illegal fashion, that you sacrificed your relationships in the greedy pursuit of money, that you're a bad father/husband/brother/son etc.

So yes, if you can afford to support yourself and family, and minimize the guaranteed random trauma we all experience in life, money does in fact provide the ability to be more happy. To think otherwise is romantic and immature. funny that I often reflected on this on our many trips to kauai.

 

[Vigilante]

Looking "hot" is relative. My wife, tan on the beach in her young 40's is hot. I am not one for the pasty look, enhanced by skin solutions and vitamin suppliments. However, there's irony in that everything you listed to make you happy... costs money. Without money, you wouldn't have all of the additives, blankets and skin creams it takes to make you happy.

For some reason, acknowledging something so fundamentally simple goes against what we all have been conditioned to.

Money buys happiness. I don't even think there is an indifference curve regarding wealth until you hit the BILLIONS. Even then, money buys happiness and the complete loss of the money you have would cause a loss of happiness. I don't think the happiness quotient ever wanes. The happiness with the things you BUY might wane, but the comfort that leads to happiness that money buys doesn't wane.

Have you ever tasted the good life? Have you ridden in an exotic car with the wind in your hair in the tropics? Have you had a glass of Dom on New Years Eve? Have you taken a helicopter ride through a rain forest under a cloud blanket? Have you relaxed poolside at a 5***** resort while waiters brought you drinks?

There is simply no argument to be made that some homeless guy in Seattle can ever be as happy as someone dining on caviar at the 4 Seasons. It is virtually impossible for the homeless guy to be as happy as the guy without a care in the world. The homeless guy needs to worry about where he will sleep, where he will find his next meal, and what he will wear. The multimillionaire only need worry about what time his tennis match is.

Money buys happiness. Deniers either never had money or are stuck in the brain washing that the feel good, equal opportunity culture has attempted to ingrain in all of us.

 

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[Ubermensch]

WSJ: Can Money Buy Happiness?

Forbes: Money Does Buy Happiness New Study Says

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 shit 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.

"They say money doesn't buy happiness? Look at the smile on my face. Ear-to-ear, baby."

Americans have a schizophrenic perspective on money. On one hand, we practice true capitalism, and practically invented the phrase "make money." Yet, many of us adhere to a moral code that characterizes the love of money as the root of all evil.

If money does not "buy" happiness, then why do the winners of a game show jump for joy when they win the big cash prize?

Whenever someone tells me that money doesn't buy happiness, a sarcastic voice in my head says: Huh, THAT must be why people who win the lottery become so depressed, the MOMENT they win.

Other than money, no other inanimate object gets such a bad rap. A stack of cash has no soul, just like a teddy bear. Yet, no one says "teddy bears don't bring happiness."

The people who claim that money does not "buy" happiness don' seem too interested in phrasing their position accurately. As others have pointed out in this thread, happiness is an ephemeral emotional state, one the comes and goes, ebbs and flows.

That said, all else equal, I prefer having money over not having money. It is pretty tough to feel down in the dumps when you live in a penthouse and wake up to waves crashing on the shore.

Besides, the real joy of money - at least the type described in the OP - is money of the highest order.
@Vigilante isn't talking about money won in the lottery, or inherited (via the genetics lottery) from a rich relative. It is money made from one's own intellect, money made in a way that most people cannot make it. For the hustler, a fully fulfilled life comes from the generation of ideas that affect the real world. Society rewards the hustler with money when the hustler impacts the world in a positive way. The money he makes may afford him security and buy him things, but the true source of the happiness comes from the objective and irrefutable proof that he met and fulfilled the needs of his fellow man. You can lose money, but no one can ever take away the affect you have on the world.

 

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[Vigilante]

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

 

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[ZCP]

When I have enough money saved up, ~50K+, I will quit my soul sucking job.......

Why wait?

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

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

 

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[StevieB]

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.

 

[GPM]

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.

 

[SquatchMan]

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.

 

[G-Man]

I don't have @Kak level Carpaccio money, but money does indeed buy happiness. 3 months ago, my 8 month old daughter was having what looked to her pediatrician like mini seizures. Instead of going to the doctor in my shitty work insurance's network, I went online and found the best pediatric neurologist in TX and booked an immediate appointment for payment at the desk in the office.

In 3 days we had the peace of mind of knowing that our little one doesn't have significant neurological problems, and only had a tick that is often mis-diagnosed by less expert doctors as seizures.

A meager $1,100 was the difference between peace of mind and what would have likely been weeks of nail biting, stress, and worry.

That's why I want more money. Not just to have the freedom to tell my boss to eff off, but because that is only a happy story because of a good diagnosis. What if it had been bad? What if the neurologist said, "Yes, your precious little baby has scary condition_______, but there's a clinic in faraway country ______ that uses therapies that aren't FDA approved, but have a high success rate. I know the doctor and can get you in, but you'll probably have to stay in country______ for months to go through the full battery of treatment."

Money bought happiness for me very recently. You'll never convince me it can't.

 

[Pinnacle]

A quote from Francisco's Money Speech in Atlas Shrugged

"Money will not purchase happiness for the man who has no concept of what he wants: money will not give him a code of values, if he's evaded the knowledge of what to value, and it will not provide him with a purpose, if he's evaded the choice of what to seek. Money will not buy intelligence for the fool, or admiration for the coward, or respect for the incompetent."

 

[The Abundant Man]

It really depends. Money only enhances your traits.

It can either eliminate problems or create new ones.

When I was over in South East Asia, I noticed the people there literally had nothing but were some of the happiest people I had ever met.

I've met people who make 6-figures or more and are still depressed.

One guy told me if he didn't make 40k/month he'd kill himself.

I've met millionaires who have had poor relationships or couldn't keep a girl to save his life and became depressed. (Elon Musk always posting about how he's still lonely on Twitter for example. Twice divorced already to the same woman lol. Steve Jobs was always bothered by the fact that he never knew his biological father)

To me money is opportunity. It allows me to do the things that I want to do. I want to travel all over Europe. I want to go to Japan. I want to go to every music festival in the world. I want to build a charitable foundation for Diabetes research. I want to ski in Washington/Colorado during the winter. I want to surf in Hawaii/California every summer. I want my 1970 Dodge Challenger. I can't do any of this without money.

 

[Spicymemer45]

Qualitative decisions that enhance your existence is not just a bringer of emotional happiness but an objective improvement.

F*ck you money typically allows many quality decisions to be made.

So yeah, monies are coolsies.

 

[Primer]

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.

 

[Kak]

I am glad someone bumped this thread. I think it needs further discussion.

 

[James Fake]

Happiness is a temporary emotion. Similar to a crackhead chasing his next high..

 

[Deon]

Money is definitely a good thing to have, and it is a big part of the happiness equation. It's not the only part though.
If you have a lot of money, and no friends to share it with, or no lover, then you won't really be happy. Like you can have friends and a lover, and struggling to pay rent and food, which makes it hard to be completely happy.

 

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[GlobalWealth]

BUT money can RENT happiness by the hour and her name is Candy

as the saying goes, "if if flys, floats or f##ks, rent it"