Can money buy happiness?

NooBish AbbZ said:
Being young, no kids, girlfriend but not fiance/wife yet I'd say it can go a long way to 'buying' happiness.

Apparently, the way to be happy with money is experiences over actual possessions.
If i had money I'd spend it on a mix of both. For example, instead of spending a day off playing games on my PC, i'd have a purpose-bought track motorbike, which I'd take on track days.

Would that make me happier than sitting on a PC? I'd expect so


Equally, I also strongly agree that money isn't everything. If someone was fundamentally unhappy, if they won the lottery, I expect they would still be unhappy, unless they were originally unhappy because of money stress/problems.
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A track bike needn't be expensive, you may even be able to afford one now ;)
 
every since i won an 8 figure ammount on the euromillions is caused me nothing but hassle, think i might give it away on an internet forum tbh :/
 
Snookums said:
Those that say it doesn't haven't lived poor. Or as a student. You try giving a student a load of money. That'll make em' more the happy.
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Thing is, a student has an end game in sight. They are in that position for a purpose.

People who work full time for very little left over, they are the ones I feel sorry for. Not everyone has a chosen path that involves a well paid career, even if they are very good at what they do.
 
gandhi said:
Temporarily it will, of course. As will a lot of the objects it would allow you to purchase. It won't however, bring about a deep seated contentment with life. Pleasure from "stuff" is pretty short lived, in my experience. And yes, that includes alcohol, cocaine and hookers.

How will you feel when the money runs out/is taken away?

Will money stop your friends and loved ones dying?
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This is spot on imo.

As I've become older I've become more wealthy. My income now is multiples of what it was when I finished education, and my net wealth many more multiples again.

However, many days I think to myself I've never been more miserable, and the things that do make me happy, are either things that don't cost me a penny, or things I could afford to buy years ago.

Being poor and having money worries are obviously going to make you seriously unhappy. But once you've reached a level of comfort, having money invariably just makes your life more stressful.
 
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The Man who is not happy with little will never be happy at all!

This is not to say that having access to wealth doesn't have its advantages. But were I in the position of winning, say, a big lotto I would be very careful about how I used it!

I would probably be very wary about improving my "Standard of living" much beyond that which I already enjoy.
 
Clov!s said:
Of course it can, if you won the lottery and you took your whole family to another country to start your life over, new houses, cars, boats etc, it absolutely can buy happiness.
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And suddenly every relationship you've ever had changes. Everybody treats you differently. All your "friends" slowly adopt the "money doesnt matter to you" attitude. Its not quick, but it'll happen.

Soon they're tutting at you when you want to split bills equally or silently judging you when they have problems you could fix in a heartbeat but you wont because its not up to you to solve everyones problems.

Maybe you'll pay off the debt of someone you love but theyre so immature that they become bulletproof because they know you'll bail them out next time too.

Thats when you move country, and you dont tell a single person about your financial situation.
 
DampCat said:
And suddenly every relationship you've ever had changes. Everybody treats you differently. All your "friends" slowly adopt the "money doesnt matter to you" attitude. Its not quick, but it'll happen.

Soon they're tutting at you when you want to split bills equally or silently judging you when they have problems you could fix in a heartbeat but you wont because its not up to you to solve everyones problems.

Maybe you'll pay off the debt of someone you love but theyre so immature that they become bulletproof because they know you'll bail them out next time too.

Thats when you move country, and you dont tell a single person about your financial situation.
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I wouldn't tell anyone exactly how much i'd won. I'd help my closest family out in ways that are meaningful. And continue to live comfortable but nothing too extravagant. I wouldn't want my kids to be spoilt. They also would never know how well off we were.
 
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