Can money buy happiness?

[chanel]

Life satisfaction was directly and strongly correlated with income, with the impact felt equally among all ages, men and women, and rural villagers and urban dwellers in virtually every corner of the globe, the researchers reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Although money also influenced emotions, the effect was much weaker. Both positive and negative emotions tended to be affected much more in relation to other psychological and social factors, such as feeling respected, having autonomy, strong social support and working at a fulfilling job.

washingtonpost.com

This begs the question: Can generational welfare recipients ever feel happiness without "feeling respected, having autonomy, and working at a fulfilling job"?

 

[Sherry]

The mind is amazingly adaptive.

 

[JW Frogen]

If you are a miserable bastard like Donald Trump money can't buy you happiness but poverty sure as hell can make anyone unhappy.

 

[editec]

Can money buy happiness?

No.

But it can sure as hell stave off one hell of a lot of misery in most cases.

And in other cases it can rent, or in some cases, give you a long-term lease on happiness.

I've been poor
and I've been rich
And now that I know which is which
I'd...
Rather be rich.

Diddle diddle diddle diddle diddle diddle diddly deeee!

 

[Barb]

Poverty is more likely to lead to ill health, mental or otherwise, and there is a significant drop in psychological disorders in children who suddenly find themselves in less stressful economic circumstances. Less stress, less feelings of being out of control, less economic embarrassment and deprivation coupled with higher nutrition greatly lowers depression and improves the overall mental health of children.

The stresses of poverty are constant, and for children especially, seem endless. I don’t think the damage this type of stress does has been publicized enough, especially as an answer to those who cite “flawed character” theories about the behaviors of inner city children, teenagers, and young adults.

The Osage Indians are an example of higher economic status improving IQ among members of the tribal community. Poverty is stressful, stress makes it hard to concentrate and develop human capital. Poverty makes it challenging to maintain a nutritious diet. Nutrition is also important for brain health and development.

Bradley R. Schiller, The Economics of Poverty and Discrimination Tenth Ed. Pearson Prentice Hall, NJ, US, 2008

 

[Care4all]

it could buy me happiness i suppose butttttttttt

it can't buy me LOVE.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMwZsFKIXa8]YouTube - The Beatles - Can't Buy Me Love (Live)[/ame]

 

[editec]

it could buy me happiness i suppose butttttttttt

it can't buy me LOVE.

YouTube - The Beatles - Can't Buy Me Love (Live)

And yet..and yet ...and yet...almost without exception most of the men I have known have noticed how much more loveable we seem to be to others when we have money, as compared to when we don't.

Not that I think people are mercenary or anything.

But ya know...friends and lovers with money will get you through times of ennui far better than friends and lovers without it.

 

[masquerade]

I am living proof that positive thoughts and actions can change ones life for the better. Sure, to some it may sound silly. It did to me when I first started.

This is true for every aspect of ones life, including finances. There is plenty of money out there for everyone. You just need to open yourself up to that fact and welcome prosperity from everywhere you turn. Pay your bills with love and know that an abundance flows freely through you.

Sure, money does make one more comfortable. Hell, I just bought a bigger vehicle. With the money I've spent ( and will continue to spend ) I've made myself extremely happy! Knowing each morning and afternoon I'm surrounded in comfort while driving to and from work. Ahhhhh ... life is good.

 

[Sarah G]

If you have your own money and are in control of it, maybe. If you are married to someone who is rich and they hand you money all the time, doubtful. It is the same when you earn a lot of money but you despise your job. You aren't as happy as you could be because someone else has power over you.

It's more about control, power and strength than about the money.

Welfare recipients don't have any self esteem, they must be miserable unless they've found side jobs that pay under the table or some other profitable underground business.

 

[ConHog]

ANyone who says money can't buy happiness just doesn't know where to shop.

 

[Care4all]

I am living proof that positive thoughts and actions can change ones life for the better. Sure, to some it may sound silly. It did to me when I first started.

This is true for every aspect of ones life, including finances. There is plenty of money out there for everyone. You just need to open yourself up to that fact and welcome prosperity from everywhere you turn. Pay your bills with love and know that an abundance flows freely through you.

Sure, money does make one more comfortable. Hell, I just bought a bigger vehicle. With the money I've spent ( and will continue to spend ) I've made myself extremely happy! Knowing each morning and afternoon I'm surrounded in comfort while driving to and from work. Ahhhhh ... life is good.

hahahaha! My sister, a School teacher, was driving a car that was 10 years old....that she was constantly having to put in the shop....

a few years back, when she got home from the night class she was teaching for adults at the high school one night, she was held at gunpoint by a robber....he brought her in to the home and ransacked her place looking for jewelry and money and other small things of value, then he brought her to her can and told her to get in the trunk...my sis, a special ed teacher, recognized this young guy's dumbness and played it.... she told him, there was no way she was going to get in that trunk, that she would scream bloody murder the whole time and just would not be able to stop, because she is claustrophobic....well, he believed her and had her sit on the front passenger seat as he drove to the ATM to withdraw money from her account....

to make this long story short....after he got the atm money he drove to near where he lived and got out, and told my sister not to call the cops for an hour....which of course, she played the ditsy blond and told him she would not....

As soon as he got out she drove to the nearest police station and lead them to the neighborhood that he lived in....

anyway....the following day, she went to the nearest car dealer and bought herself a $20 grand car......with all the luxuries anyone could imagine....and she felt GOOD.

she said,

"I'll be damned if I am going to drive this clunker one more day, when I could be dead tomorrow..."

and she's lived happily ever after!

 

[dilloduck]

I'm sure Jesus would agree. Seek thou happiness in a luxury vehicle in a color of your choosing.

 

[Wry Catcher]

Maybe it's time for someone on welfare to meet MQ's? Consider making welfare like academic probation, one can remain on welfare for on 'semester'. If they don't make the necessary changes to become self relient, it's time to fire them.
Of course for such a drastic change of policy we must be prepared for unintended consequences; those who feel entitled to a welfare check will not easily go into the night.. People will do what they need to do to survive. Some will adapt and some will resort to crime.
In many nations the chronically poor are religated to communites, many with housing of long used up materials - cardboard, sheet metal and crude tents.
Maybe our schools are the problem? What if we began, starting in the K-Third Grades at an age when children are most mallable a new strategy. Like Camus' Sisyphus they might learn that in work there is meaning - even in an absurd world. Reward those who conform with a treat, and ignore those who do not.
We could develop a slogan, "Just say no to being idle". Then our money would not go to taxes for the poor to spend on drugs and alcohol. A few dollars spent on a PR program would save us lots of $$$.
The problem of the chronically ill and the aged is bothersome, but if we ignore them they will go away - isn't/shouldn't their survival be up to God?

 

[AquaAthena]

Life satisfaction was directly and strongly correlated with income, with the impact felt equally among all ages, men and women, and rural villagers and urban dwellers in virtually every corner of the globe, the researchers reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Although money also influenced emotions, the effect was much weaker. Both positive and negative emotions tended to be affected much more in relation to other psychological and social factors, such as feeling respected, having autonomy, strong social support and working at a fulfilling job.

washingtonpost.com

This begs the question: Can generational welfare recipients ever feel happiness without "feeling respected, having autonomy, and working at a fulfilling job"?

Money can buy security and the things you want, but unless it has been earned by you, it won't grow self-esteem....

 

[FLGoldilocks]

Life satisfaction was directly and strongly correlated with income, with the impact felt equally among all ages, men and women, and rural villagers and urban dwellers in virtually every corner of the globe, the researchers reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Although money also influenced emotions, the effect was much weaker. Both positive and negative emotions tended to be affected much more in relation to other psychological and social factors, such as feeling respected, having autonomy, strong social support and working at a fulfilling job.

washingtonpost.com

This begs the question: Can generational welfare recipients ever feel happiness without "feeling respected, having autonomy, and working at a fulfilling job"?

I think those may not be the best way to define someone's happiness. I am a stay at home mom. My boyfriend is an otr truck driver and he financially supports our family. I take care of the house, the kids, making sure the bills get paid with the money he earns. I handle things he can't do while on the road. I don't get a paycheck for this. But I don't feel any less happy than I did when I used to work a full time job. In truth, I'd have to say I'm happier this way. I enjoy caring for my family, ensuring their needs are met, and not having to try to determine how best to balance relationship, kids, job, and house. Taking away the job, everything else tends to balance itself out it seems.

As to the actual question of whether money can buy happiness, no I don't think it can. I do think that since having money can make life easier and less stressful, it can lead to more happiness, but I don't think the money itself causes the happiness. We don't have much money at all, and neither do a lot of the people I know, but we're all happy anyway.

 

[dilloduck]

Life satisfaction was directly and strongly correlated with income, with the impact felt equally among all ages, men and women, and rural villagers and urban dwellers in virtually every corner of the globe, the researchers reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Although money also influenced emotions, the effect was much weaker. Both positive and negative emotions tended to be affected much more in relation to other psychological and social factors, such as feeling respected, having autonomy, strong social support and working at a fulfilling job.

washingtonpost.com

This begs the question: Can generational welfare recipients ever feel happiness without "feeling respected, having autonomy, and working at a fulfilling job"?

Money can buy security and the things you want, but unless it has been earned by you, it won't grow self-esteem....

What good is security if it cannot be guaranteed to be 100% fool proof ?

 

[Sherry]

washingtonpost.com

This begs the question: Can generational welfare recipients ever feel happiness without "feeling respected, having autonomy, and working at a fulfilling job"?

Money can buy security and the things you want, but unless it has been earned by you, it won't grow self-esteem....

What good is security if it cannot be guaranteed to be 100% fool proof ?

Nothing in life is 100% guarantee, but peace of mind can influence a person in many positive ways.

 

[editec]

I am living proof that positive thoughts and actions can change ones life for the better.

That or you're living proof that positive thoughts and actions can't hurt.

Sure, to some it may sound silly. It did to me when I first started.

There is much to be said for the fact that positive thinkers attract other people and that negative thinkers just so bum people out that they become isolated

And since having friends and acquaintances tends to give one a social network that can lead to jopportinites and all other sorts of other benefits, it stri\ikes me that while there's no MAGIC to it, thinking positively is STILL a good idea if one can be so disposed

This is true for every aspect of ones life, including finances. There is plenty of money out there for everyone. You just need to open yourself up to that fact and welcome prosperity from everywhere you turn. Pay your bills with love and know that an abundance flows freely through you.

Soiund like magical thinking to me, but who knows?

Sure, money does make one more comfortable. Hell, I just bought a bigger vehicle. With the money I've spent ( and will continue to spend ) I've made myself extremely happy! Knowing each morning and afternoon I'm surrounded in comfort while driving to and from work. Ahhhhh ... life is good.

May your happiness bring you continued happiness.

 

[dilloduck]

Money can buy security and the things you want, but unless it has been earned by you, it won't grow self-esteem....

What good is security if it cannot be guaranteed to be 100% fool proof ?

Nothing in life is 100% guarantee, but peace of mind can influence a person in many positive ways.

any peace of mind that money can buy is an illusion. As long as one understands the illusion they are under the better they will handle it when the inevitable happens.

 

[Sherry]

What good is security if it cannot be guaranteed to be 100% fool proof ?

Nothing in life is 100% guarantee, but peace of mind can influence a person in many positive ways.

any peace of mind that money can buy is an illusion. As long as one understands the illusion they are under the better they will handle it when the inevitable happens.

Money can open doors for such things as an education, a safe place to raise a family, etc. What is the inevitable??