Can Money Buy Happiness?

After tackling the love work/money relationship, I thought this would be a good question to debate:

Can money buy happiness?

Before I give you my thoughts, here's what US News recently said about this issue:

The old adage goes "Money can't buy happiness," but people usually mean "Material goods can't buy happiness." Spending time with the wife and kids on a camping getaway costs money, but it's the kind of spending that is worthwhile and fulfilling. At least, that's the conventional wisdom. "Most people think materialism is not a good thing," says Joseph K. Goodman, assistant professor of marketing at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis and one of the authors of the study. "They think you're not going to get happiness through possessions."

Ok, so they're twisting the situation a bit, but their point is well-taken.

Here are my thoughts on the issue:

1. Money alone, does not bring happiness. Otherwise, why would there be so many stories of wealthy people who hate life, themselves, etc.? Money and possessions in and of themselves are empty.

2. If you have the other things that generally make people happy (a good family, job you enjoy, positive self-image, and so on), then having money can make you "happier" because it can add experiences to your life that make you even more fulfilled. I think this is what US News was getting at above. If you have a great family and you can now spend more time with them, go on vacations that others can't take, etc., you will be happier thanks to the extra money you have.

3. That said, you can still be happy simply with the non-money situations noted above. Some of the happiest people I've known have been poor financially but very rich in other parts of their lives. Sure, more money would likely make them "happier", but they're happy enough as it is.

4. Then again, having more money doesn't always make people happier. Case-in-point: lottery winners. It's almost a fact of life that they'll crash and burn soon after they win a ton of money. Now some of these people have to have been happy before they won, right? So it's possible that great wealth can ruin an otherwise happy life (though I'd say that a bit more money would likely add to the happiness of an already happy person.)

For some other takes on the happiness/money relationship, see these posts:

• Give Away Money and Become Happier

• How to Have a Better, Longer, More-Fulfilling Life

• Guess What Makes People Happy?

What's your take? Do you think money can buy happiness?

Comments

[Auditioning For Adulthood]

I agree with your points, but I'd like to add another stipulation: Earned money (not gotten through lottery or inheritance) makes you happier. It's as though you earned it and now have pride in it.

[Moneymonk]

It's money that usually creates the experience, world travel, get-togethers with family all cost.

"Material goods can't buy happiness" so true. But experiences can buy happiness

[artie]

Money can not make you happy. Just look at all the rich famous people who struggle with drugs and other problems. They have tons of money and still seem lost. Money only makes paying the bills easier.

[NP]

The desire for more money often represents a need for something else that could result in happiness if fulfilled. Personally, money represents security for me (among other things). Having 6 months of living expenses can contribute to my security which contributes to my happiness. Maybe knowing what money can mean for you and knowing how much it takes to get that meaning can lead to happiness.

[gini]

absolutely, just like it can buy everything else.............

[Neil]

People make you happy, not money. That being said it would be hard to be happy if you were completely destitute. You need to have the basics of life (food, shelter, clothes) covered before you can be happy.

Once that it achieved I truly believe that it is the relationships that you have with other people that make you happy. Sure money can make these things easier (holidays etc. as mentioned above) but I think the bottom line is:

"You can be happy with lot of meaningful relationships with people and very little money. The opposite is not true"

[David]

I think that money can ENABLE happiness. It doesn't guarentee happiness on it's own, and it's certainly possible to be happy without money.

There are some situations where it can make it easier to be happy. I could be happy living on the streets, but I think I'd be happier in a house.

I could be happy never going on trips, but I think I'm happier taking a vacation every once in a while.

So money is only part of the equation... if you don't have the life, value, beliefs, etc..., then money won't do you any good. You have to have a solid foundation for money to bring happiness.

If you have a solid base, money can help that base grow. If you don't, then money will bring the foundation crashing to the ground. Consider the case of lottery winners and celebrities.

[Jon]

Sure it can. It buys security and peace of mind. The people who say money can't buy happiness are already financially secure.

[MC]

I disagree--I do think money can buy happiness. But then, I've been "poor"! I don't miss 1) the "month of ramen noodles" that I had to endure every few months, 2) no dental care for 6 years (arg!), 3) constantly trying to figure out how to fix my crappy car without spending money I don't have, etc etc. I'm much happier now with my 6 figure salary!

[Markus]

Money buys FLEXIBILITY.

You have enough to pay your bills even if you don't have a job...but you miss doing something productive;

You have enough to give away to charity or family....but they always want more;

You have enough to participate in extracurricular activities and travel....but unless you have a passion for life, things get old quickly;

You have enough to keep from worrying about tomorrow...but the future is uncertain, and a million probably won't go very far if you require a lot of health care.

Being that the future is uncertain, and being that hoarding wealth to cover all uncertainties is uuproductive, I think lowering both your expectations and time horizon (<5 years at a time) is a better way to live a less stressful relationship with money. Nothing is worth having money for, unless you have passion for life and other people.

[Strick]

There is not a close relationship between happiness and stuff. There is a close relationship between happiness and freedom and happiness and having your most basic needs met. After the basic needs are met, each $1 can be used to purchase more freedom or more stuff. The vast majority of what most Americans earn (those above the poverty level) goes toward the purchase of stuff and very little to the purchase of freedom (savings). So, sure money can buy happiness, you only question this because thats not what most people choose to spend it on.

[Arthur Schopenhauer]

Money is human happiness in the abstract; he, then, who is no longer capable of enjoying human happiness in the concrete devotes himself utterly to money.