Does money make you happy? Poll discussion

luxor4t

My salary has no relation to the reason for my unhappiness. I might be 'comfortable' but I'm still miserable.

sobrique

Shame on you. Correlation is not causation.
Money doesn't make me happy - Money troubles may make me unhappy, but money itself is worthless and meaningless - little bits of metal and paper.
But the money doesn't have much to do with anything.
Although I would say, someone who's feeling comfortable and satisfied is liable to be doing better in life, I cannot help but think that doesn't really have a great deal to do with financial position.

ajsmith9870

People and relationships are fundemental to happiness, but money matters, money = choice, no money = no choice. Need a change of scenery? Not so easy when your trapped by poverty. Want your kids to have good chances in life? Much harder when your living in a deprived area where gangs and crime or a life on benefits are seen as the best option for kids. Living on the breadline is stressful, I'd much rather be rich and unhappy than poor and unhappy. "Money doesn't make you happy" is an argument that you hear mostly from people with plenty of the stuff, well why don't they give it away then?

Gordon_the_Moron

I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love, no no no!

Great words brought to us by the man who married Heather Mills.

gdyr1945

Why is it always people wwith plenty that say it doesn't bring happiness? Of course it doesn't but at least you can be miserable in comfort!
Poverty does not equate to happiness either. Having to worry about bills, being cold all the time because of fuel bills, not being able to go out because of petrol costs (I have a bus pass but no buses!). We don't go hungry because I can cook but you do get fed up with mince/chicken cooked 100 different ways! We don't eat many fresh veggies or fruit because of the wastage.
We have worked all our lives but haven't had penionsable jobs so are now living on state pension. Let the politicians who think they are hard up on £60,000 try it and we don't have the opportunity to fiddle any expenses.
We are lucky that our children are adults and independant of us. They are healthy and enjoy their work. We have had a good marriage but a bit more cash would not have ruined that.

sandraroffey

yes. as gdyr 45 says. money doesnt buy happiness for those who already have enough. BUT lack of it sure does cause problems, and great unhappiness. , the continual worry over bills , rent etc, knocks the stuffing out of you. and the worse thing is that you can never see an end to it all. it is never going to get any better.

stevemcol

I would be very surprised if there genuinely are people earning £150K+ on this forum. Apart from Martin maybe :cool:

gadgetmind

stevemcol wrote: »

I would be very surprised if there genuinely are people earning £150K+ on this forum.

Well, it was only a smattering of the many responses, and it might be that some took it to be household income, or included bonuses and/or income from investments.

There are also a fair few IFAs on the forum, and I guess that towards the end of their careers, all of those 0.5% trail commissions from our pensions must add up!

ScarletBea

What does you being currently happy or not have anything to do with how much you earn?
Very tenuous link...
I could earn not very much and be really happy, because I have friends, family, like where I live, have a nice job, good work-life balance, and so on, but the same could be said exactly if I earned a lot!

birkee

As usual, the question is asked back to front.
Money doesn't make you happy, but lack of money can make you unhappy, so it's relative.
If you DO have money, then live within your means for happiness, not beyond them.