How much money do you need to be happy?

mp2

no one buys a nice car because they are trying to win friends. i think people can be quick to judge if they think someone driving a nice car is just showing off.

sometimes possessions give you a sense of achievement. its not a case of if i drive a porsche it will make someone happy but if they aspire to get a porsche and then manage to get it, there is a sense of personal achievement and sastisfaction when you get there.

getting a nice car or a nice house is often a reward for the hard work you done to achieving your goals. for example lots of people get a nice house as a result of saving their income rather than blowing it away.

so when you see someone driving a nice car and think " i wonder what must be missing in their lives" its actually you thats judgemental - theyre not out to prove anything to you, i gaurantee you 95% of these people are just minding their own business.

the remaining 5% and the people you resent are the one who have got something for nothing and are trying to be something they are not, but in the majority of cases, people have worked hard for what they have got and have got their reward, it doesnt change them.

id also say that people that do have lots of money, know that money doesnt buy you happiness. for them money and possessions, is not centered around this, its about personal acheivement , ambition, goals, which is a different part of your life.

bo_drinker

I think if people have not got a pot to p1ss in then they will be happier if they had a few quid. But money and happiness do not go together automatically. You could be rich and unhappy. Money does not bring happiness, people with no money may think it does but it doesn't.

Mandalena

You are more likely to be happy or content with what you have if you don't compare yourself with others. When I worked as a photographer I met some of the richest people in the world and also some of the poorest, on balance I would say that the poorest were happier than the richest but probably had no experience of wealth so were not discontent.
George Orwell once wrote that if you have a penny more than you need then you should be happy, so if you modify your needs to suit your income then that might be your best chance rather than putting a figure on it.

mewbie_2

Mandalena wrote: »

George Orwell once wrote that if you have a penny more than you need then you should be happy...

Ah so that's why every single item available through retail costs something and 99p.

Davesnave

I think it's a matter of luck whether you are happy or not, mainly because genes play such an important part in one's responses to life. Take me, for example: I'm basically a very happy person. It's just my bad luck that the things which would make me really happy are so very expensive.

But I'll get over it

space_rider

I think I would just need to have around £40,000.

I have a daughter who is 16, gets DLA and EMA. She has a bad case of vasculitis and an obscene amount of money in the bank for her age. She would much rather, and so would I, have no money and good health.

I also had a friend who died of cancer 3 years ago. She was diagnosed at 19 and it came back 3 times before she lost her battle at 30. She didn`t have much money but she had a short good life.

Jade on the other hand has plenty of money and she won`t have had the chance to fight the cancer as my friend had. Money really isn`t everything.

moggylover

MrsE wrote: »

As ever an intelligent post from you.

BUT I must confess, I need nice things about me. My home needs to be pleasing to my eye. I honestly think it would make me very depressed if it wasn't, but I get a lot of pleasure from decorating & improving my home.
I also get huge pleasure out of using mostly high end make up, skin care & perfume. Now I know the chances that it really IS better are slim, but the beautiful packaging, jars & bottles, the smells & texture, from them, all give me pleasure.
With clothes & that, I buy mid range mostly & some high end stuff (mostly got at bargain prices:money: , but I would be miserable if I had to shop in real basement clothes shops.

I hope that doesn't make me sound shallow, I don't judge others for what they have, I just get a huge kick out of possessions:o

But Mrs E! You're not saying you need them in order to be "happy" - just that they bring you pleasure:D .

I am sure that you and I could go for a days shopping quite happily: I would get bored looking at clothes and make-up, you would be bored looking at antique furniture and books but I am sure we could both spend a lovely time in my friends jewellery studio in Hatton Garden AND he would design a piece especially for each of us:eek: .

It isn't about not wanting "things" at all, but since I have fairly simple and classic tastes and buy good quality in the first place, the "things" I already have do not need replacing very often. I am not, and never have been, a fashion victim as I prefer to wear clothes because they suit me and my lifestyle not because they are "all the rage" and the same goes for the things I want in my house: I dislike most modern furniture and prefer really nice old wood and once I have bought something I seldom get bored with it or want to change it. I have a 240 year old stone cottage and almost all electrical gadgets look out of place in it (:o ) and I think it would look particularly awful with a large flat screen TV above the huge stone and oak fireplace so it would not be something I would crave (although my DS1 would rather like one:D because his friends all have them:rolleyes: ) just to keep up with the Joneses. I'm fussier with hi-fi as I do like my music:D . Cars do very little for me at all they are just a way of getting around:o

I think it has to do with the era I was born in, not so very long after the war and before "consumerism" actually became a way of life, that and being able to differentiate between things that give me pleasure and those that actually make me HAPPY, which imo is a very different thing and comes from deeper within one and takes much more simple things to induce it: a hug when it is needed, a kind word and a laugh if things are tough and the sure and certain knowledge that the son with his arms around you loves you just as you are:Dand that your cat isn't too bothered about the fact that you have your dreadful old gardening trousers on, he/she just wants to come on your lap and rub noses:D .

As to doing up houses! I LOVE doing up houses and would actually really enjoy being a property developer (but not so much for the dosh but just the pleasure of making a silk purse out of a sows ear:D ).

stephen163

ninky wrote: »

There may be some delight afforded to parents in creating a lottery draw in which the new host (aka ‘baby’) demonstrates the replication of some of each of their genetic “numbers” – “He’s got your eyes / he’s got your nose”. But whether they do this or not these “numbers” will continue to replicate through other hosts.

I don't fully understand what you're saying here. This is more than just a desire, this is a powerful drive and is necessary for the continuation of our species, at least historically. I can understand that the modern way of living has now altered the course of evolution in peculiar ways, but natural selection still exists and we still go to incredible lengths to find the most attractive mate.

Historically, a trait responsible for such a laissez faire attitude toward reproduction would quickly die out, so I think the argument you make is self defeating and the question shouldn't be whether our genetic legacy exists whether we have kids or not, but rather how the desire to have kids influences our behaviour.

perplexed.com

bendix wrote: »

Yes, it's awful when people are successful isn't it? I personally think we should aim for a cult of mediocrity where everyone is the same as everyone else. That would teach those rich 'uns.

Here's a thought. Perhaps they are building wealth not just for themselves, but to secure and embellish the lives of their kids and their kids' kids ad infinitium.

Isn't that one of the most basic of all human desires?

So all basic human desires have to be encouraged then?

novazombie

mitchaa wrote: »

Aberdeenshire Average Property Price
(Source Nationwide)
Q1 2007... £139,063
Q4 2008... £154,988
Yes i have made money in this HPC
.

Just seen Mitchaa hasnt changed his sig yet.

This one was made for him last year

Mitchaa`s future signature

Aberdeenshire Average Property Price
(Source Nationwide)
Q1 2009...up to 20% down
Q4 2009... another huge % DROP
Q4 2010... Oh no I cant sell my house.
Q2 2011... I`ve spent so much on my house its not fair its worth only 50% now
Yes i have lost a lot of money in this HPC :mad:


But he made a right fuss and insisted his house was still going up in value.

I dont agree with only worth 50% by 2011, I think it will be next year it will be 50% down.