The rich are not happy, the poor too are not. Is there an ideal level of money that is conducive to happiness?

Question

If you have too much money, you are stressed to protect it apart from being a target of jealousy and ill will. If you have too little, you are stressed to meet two ends, apart from being an object of pity or disdain.

How would you define such ideal level of financial status that will be the least hindrance to attaining happiness?

Answer 1

The ideal level would be the 'enough' level.
Just enough to be independent, be able to live in a home, with comforts of power, water and airconditioning / heating, a garden for the kids and pets, eat well with some perks, own reasonable clothes, afford dental and health care, educate the children, afford transport and it's associated costs, own some nice / comfortable furniture, with enough money left to enjoy life a little and make a difference.
It is through hardships we learn to appreciate and be thankful.
To anyone who says money can't buy you happiness: total rubbish. Most divorces are due to financial hardships!! Not knowing how to pay the bills will cause stress in the best relationship. I'd rather be rich and stressed than poor and stressed any day.. at least I can stress in comfort.
Here's a little saying I like:

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how grey the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

Answer 2

Scientific American magazine recently posted an article that said that research showed that money didn't make people happy. They surveyed lottery winners and the conclusion was that a year after having won the lottery, the winners did not describe themselves as being any happier than before they won.

Circumstances - money or the lack of it, or anything else - do not dictate happiness so much as your attitude toward those circumstances.

In the case you describe I think the happiest person would be the one who wasn't focused on money at all, or how much of it they had or didn't have. Placing happiness in things that can change so quickly -- youth, health, financial status, social status -- is bound to lead to comparisons with others, making you feel superior toward those who you perceive to have less than you (pity and disdain) and inferior around those whom you perceive to have more than you (jealousy and ill will) -- you, and nobody else, are imposing value on amounts of money (or other factors.) Setting aside the need to place a value on things or to place yourself in an artificial hierarchy based on those things will encourage a state of happiness and a more authentic attitude toward life.

So to answer your question, the ideal level of financial status that least hinders attaining happiness is actually null - an absence of that value judgment --- or a release of the notion that there is such a thing as "financial status."

Answer 3

Unfortunately, I don't think that there is a middle ground. The human mind is "programmed" to always want more. Even rich people want more, regardless of the fact that they are stressed out to protect their money... We all know that greed is one of the major sins, and there is a reason for it.

Also, I don't believe that true happiness could be achieved with money... no matter how much you have or don't have. Money could make your life more comfortable, give you more opportunities and let you experience things that the average middle class person can't afford. But in the end, if you're all alone and don't have anyone to share this with, even if you didn't have to stress out to protect your money, it's still not worth having it at all...

Answer 4

You can't set a numerical figure for that. We each determine how much is an adequate amount. Unfortunately, most people never feel that they reach an adequate amount. Even billionaires continue to try to make more money. And a poor person who goes from living on the streets to living in a crappy apartment rarely feels that this upgrade is enough.

In a way, this situation is beneficial for society, because it fuels the engine of innovation and improvement. In a way it's sad, because so many people live their lives unsatisfied. The best way to achieve adequate income is to decide that you have!

Answer 5

Although money is very important in life , to many people base their happiness on money and toys that can be bought , unfortunately happiness is within you . Base on Love and compassion and altruism's . Several books that you might be interested reading are from The Dali Lama . Great books to read .

Answer 6

If you want the exact amount, here it is - you must have $4,567,834.67 in your bank account to be happy. Since most people are several million or several cents off, they are not happy.
I'll become happy later today, when a check for $1.67 clears (I deposited it an hour ago and it will bring the balance in my account to the exact number needed to be happy.)

Answer 7

You are being too general. I know many people both rich and poor who are happy. I also know some who are unhappy. The difference in those who are happy and those who are not is contingent on their personal levels of compassion, contentment, and self-awareness.

People who do not want to be happy will not be happy with anything. Those who wish to be happy will be happy with nothing.

Answer 8

genuinely, i might have not have been given any selection approximately being wealthy or undesirable being happy with despite my existence subject is what's paramount, I even have assumed that by utilising wealthy or undesirable you propose in terms of money yet, you recognize, that may not what being wealthy is completely approximately. somebody can be particularly wealthy yet no longer wealthy, basically as somebody could be financially undesirable yet spiritually wealthy. And that could be the greater efficient of the two.

Answer 9

The state you are looking for is called "independently wealthy". You are beholden to no one for your income and it is more than sufficient to meet your moderate needs. No buying multimillion dollar yachts but can travel anywhere desired on this planet by conventional means.

Answer 10

No...Money, like power, only allows a person to be more of what they already are. Happiness and the formulae that we use to maintain it, does not require of money or power.