Does money bring happiness or not?

Question

I hear and read comments to the effect that money doesn't affect happiness. I just pretend that who ever made such a remark made it based on either some kind of happiness, or is limiting the scope of happiness to a certain philosophy/standard of some type.

To me, money does affect happiness. Therefore, money, just like education, or a complete healthy physical body, or any great asset we can obtain to enrich our lives, can bring happiness. So, who is it that says money can't bring happiness? What are they really saying in, obviously, not enough words?

Recently I read a statement that seems to me to be reasonable, explaining why "researchers" think some married couples stay together more than others. It said, "Families with two earners with good jobs have seen an improvement in their standard of living, which leads to less tension at home and lower probability of divorce."

Answer 1

I think when people use that phrase "Money can't buy happiness", they really mean fame and fortune can't buy happiness. Fame and fortune will bring misery, but money is something we all need and the lack of it will bring misery. You can choose to be happy if you are down on your luck, but it's tough. No, money can't buy happiness, but it sure helps.

I can say from experience, money problems cause marriage problems. I know there are people who can live on love, but I'm not one of them. It's hard to respect someone you feel doesn't properly provide for the family. Couples can choose to stick it out even though it takes a toll on the relationship but that's just a season in the marriage that will pass. When things do get better financially the couple feels a deeper connection and know they made it when they could have just given up and walked away.

Loving money and needing money are two different things.

Answer 2

I've known happy people in all income brackets. That being said, I think there are things that are more important than money. If you can have it all, that's great. If you sacrifice things that make you happy for things that bring you money I have a feeling you'll be miserable eventually. You should look up stories of people that have won the lottery and quickly had all the money they ever wanted. There was a guy in WVA that won and within a matter of years, he was divorced, an alcoholic and his grand daughter who brought him the most joy in life, was dead. All a result of the money.
As far as the comment about marriage and money. I agree many couples argue about money and it's a bone of contention in relationships. I think couples need to be on the same page as far as goals and lifestyle. There is no rule that says we must all live the same way. In our house, we've had two incomes and one. I think we're MUCH happier with one. Why? Our happiness is in the time we have together, not the money. When we both worked we were more stressed and felt like our time together was so limited. We were both tired from work and daily life. I've been a stay at home mom for 9 years and we've never been happier. I'm available for our kids. If someone has an appointment there is no getting off work to take them. There is no giant day-care bill. I can volunteer at school. I'm here to help with homework. I'm here to teach my kids when they want to learn something. I'm able to take care of our house and yard. When my husband comes home from work, he walks into a happy, clean house with well adjusted people inside. That right there is more rewarding than the paycheck I used to contribute. Marriage is about coming together with like minded goals and creating the life that you both want. It doesn't matter if it involves both people working or not. Its a matter of the lifestyle you both want and your happiness day to day.

Answer 3

What you do with the money can bring happiness. It can also bring strife. Everyone has a base happiness level and in almost all cases you return to that base level in time. Say for instance you are a miserable person and then you win the lottery; you will be giddy for a while but you will eventually return to being miserable. On the other hand say you are generally a happy person and you loose your 6 figure job, you will be bummed pretty bad for a while but again you'll return to your base happiness level.

Answer 4

I think this is one of those "double edged sword" kind of things. In my experience, when my ex and I first married we didn't have very much income although both of us worked. We were happy. Don't get me wrong we wanted more money and it was a hardship to pay bills. We worked hard and both moved up in our careers. After we became financially stable, things went downhill from there. I think alot of it was he worked so hard and such long hours, things just deteriorated. But I also can see where for some people it causes tension in the marriage when money is tight. I also firmly believe the more money you make, the bigger your wants and spending habits.

Answer 5

While marrid to my first wife money was never an issue, we could pretty much do what we wanted, when we wanted. I can honestly say I was miserable in that relationship. Because of the divorce due to support I have had to live on a tight budget, I remarried and we do struggle with money, but the marriage is fantastic. So I can honestly say money did not bring me happiness

Answer 6

Money its a major factor on a marriage...but it doesn't bring you happiness..you can have all the money in the world, but you wont be happy...because your happiness would be based on things, such as clothes, shoes, properties.., but what happens the day something goes wrong and you don't have more money??...your world would be down..because you became too materialistic..thinking that moneys buys everything...
Money goes and comes...

Answer 7

Not a trick question…

Yes it does, as long as you don’t live beyond your means… i.e. why live poor in a rich area if you can live rich in a poor area.

Money (any sum) affects your appearance. Money affects your health. Money affects opportunities. Too little money and you don’t get to see a certain class of people, too much gives you the same results… More or less is not better, just enough if spent wisely bring great results.

Answer 8

This subject is not cut and dried. IF you are with the right person, money can inhance happiness by allowing you to do more things, go more places etc. However, if you are completely miserable with your significant other, money isn't going to change it. Having money does allow people to concentrate more on the good things in life and not stress about bills and basic needs. In my opinion, people that have similar financial backgrounds, education and goals in life will tend to stay together more often than ones from different backgrounds.

Answer 9

Of course money brings happiness. They even did a study recently of wealthy versus lower income people and found that those with less money actually age faster. They measured it at the cellular level and it can be measured physiologically. So anytime you hear old sayings like "money is the root of all evil" remember those were made up to make people with nothing feel good about the fact they have nothing.

Answer 10

Certainly.....money is needed to live and when the bills can be paid with no problem...sure, that's less pressure and stress. It's also nice to know that if an emergency....something unforeseen happens, that you'll have the money you need. However, I think "money doesn't buy happiness" means if you do not have happiness in your heart, money isn't going to fill that void. I know people who have tons of money and aren't any happier than my friends without it. What can money buy? Material things and those things do not make people happy. Not truly. You need something deeper than that.