Does money=happiness?

doink · Oct 20, 2007

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

That is so incredibly cold, especially from someone who is supposed to care about you.

It got worse after that.

The crazy thing is she is one of the best and worst things that has ever happened to me.

Asch · Oct 20, 2007

Originally Posted by Connemara

Garsh, I make a typo and the whole forum ***** their pants! Her salary has been more like $30K, not 50.
Is this a joke? I live in one of the most expensive parts of the country, and $30k (my own salary) is plenty for a single person to live comfortably and still make investments and take vacations. "Practically nothing"?

Jonathan Crane · Oct 20, 2007

Originally Posted by rambo

At what point of drunkenness does $50k equal practically nothing?

These days, 50k a year really isn't a whole lot.

Laffertron · Oct 20, 2007

Money won't necessarily buy you happiness but a lot of unhappiness comes from not being able to buy food, medicine, having to work a job you hate, etc.

What pisses me off are the people who think you have to be dirt poor to enjoy life. These people are probably making themselves feel better for not succeeding financially by telling themselves that all rich people are depressed and hate themselves.

Gus · Oct 20, 2007

Money does not = happiness.

Money gives you options in life.

Asch · Oct 20, 2007

To address the original question, research across and within cultures consistently shows that money is critical to happiness insofar as it provides for basic human needs -- food, shelter, medicine, etc. Beyond that, most studies find little relationship between wealth and happiness. I don't doubt that, all else equal, being richer (beyond meeting basic needs) may generally be better for people's well-being, but the problem is that "all else" is never equal, and the effects of numerous variables such as social relationships are so robust and complexly interactive that any (relatively) modest effect of wealth on happiness is likely washed out, statistically speaking, in the regressions.

gnatty8 · Oct 20, 2007

Originally Posted by LabelKing

$30,000 would be a difficult income to live on in California.

$30,000 would be a difficult income to live on anywhere! I mean, let's get real. I actually agree that $50,000 would be a difficult income to live on pretty much anywhere. I mean seriously, think of mortgage/rent being anywhere from $1,500 t0 $2,000 a month, and you are already up to almost $24,000 a year right there, and that's after tax if one rents. Pretty tough to spend serious money on clothing when almost half your scratch is to keep a roof over your head.

Rambo · Oct 21, 2007

Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy

Money gives you options in life.
QFT

GQgeek · Oct 21, 2007

Originally Posted by Jonathan Crane

These days, 50k a year really isn't a whole lot.

+1

I know that people are coming down on Conne because of the way he said it, but 50k isn't a lot, and 30k is the bare minimum I could survive on as a single person in montreal and that's really pushing it. 50k gets you a pretty nice lifestyle if you're single, but not much more. This is highly dependent on where you live however. Even in Montreal you would just get by with a mortgage and I REALLY wouldn't want to live on 30k/yr. I wouldn't be able to do any of the things that I really enjoy and I don't think you'd ever own much of anything at that salary. Also consider that you're probably not going to save much if you're earning that little. That means you'll retire later. No thanks.

Piobaire · Oct 21, 2007

Yup, have to back Conn here. To quote Bud Fox, "50k doesn't get you to first base anymore." And that was set in what? 1985?

Connemara · Oct 21, 2007

Originally Posted by Asch

Is this a joke? I live in one of the most expensive parts of the country, and $30k (my own salary) is plenty for a single person to live comfortably and still make investments and take vacations. "Practically nothing"?

I'm sorry, but $30K/yr simply is not a lot of money in 2007.

graphix · Oct 21, 2007

i think a lot of people could do just fine on 30k a year. my buddy is a very minimalist person with just 2 pairs of pants, 2 shorts, and a handful of t-shirts. He splits a roomy 2 bedroom apartment with his brother and pays $550 a month for it. he uses public transportation instead of a car. he buys almost all his music from the dollar record store. his biggest hobby is reading and he gets all his books though the library. but then again were only 23 years old. just depends what kind of luxuries you consider a bare minimum. i enjoy making more than that...but it is definitely doable.

Stazy · Oct 21, 2007

Originally Posted by Connemara

Then there's folk like me. Frankly, my dad makes a lot of money. He owns numerous companies. Until I was 7 or 8, putting food on the table was a real concern for him and my mom. Through incredibly long hours and a lot of sacrifice, my father and mother were able to build a life for me that I am just realizing 99% of the globe will never experience.

So, does money=pleasure? Opinions?

This is a pretty acurate descrpition my upbringing as well. If money = happiness then I'm not sure I could be any happier. However, that in itself is a depressing sentiment. So, for the sake of what's left of my drive to succeed in life, I will say that money doesn't equal happiness. I want to have to earn my hapiness.

onion · Oct 21, 2007

To quote Kanye West "Having money isn't everything, not having it is."

GQgeek · Oct 21, 2007

Originally Posted by graphix

i think a lot of people could do just fine on 30k a year. my buddy is a very minimalist person with just 2 pairs of pants, 2 shorts, and a handful of t-shirts. He splits a roomy 2 bedroom apartment with his brother and pays $550 a month for it. he uses public transportation instead of a car. he buys almost all his music from the dollar record store. his biggest hobby is reading and he gets all his books though the library. but then again were only 23 years old. just depends what kind of luxuries you consider a bare minimum. i enjoy making more than that...but it is definitely doable.

Heh... That's a lot of compromises. Doesn't have his own place, has no money for clothes, has to save on everything, including something as cheap as records. Can't have any expensive hobbies. Like you said, it's fine if you're in your early 20s, but it's no way to live much beyond that imo.

Does money=happiness?

Senior Member

Distinguished Member

Active Member

Senior Member

Stylish Dinosaur

Distinguished Member

Stylish Dinosaur

Timed Out

Stylish Dinosaur

Not left of center?

Stylish Dinosaur

Senior Member

Distinguished Member

Distinguished Member

Stylish Dinosaur

FEATURED PRODUCTS

Similar threads

Featured Sponsor

Definitely full canvas only

Half canvas is fine

Really don't care

Depends on fabric

Depends on price

Forum Sponsors

Forum statistics

FOLLOW STYLEFORUM ON: