Can Money Buy Happiness (Money Mindset Series V)
December 12, 2007
(Photo by Darkle Doodah Dagbar )
Can money buy happiness? If money can really buy happiness, how much would it cost?
Of course, there’s a lot of things that money can’t buy. Saying money can buy happiness does sound superficial. Perhaps to some, money and happiness are two concepts that should not even be talked about together. Well, that’s exactly contrary to what I think - money and happiness has A LOT to do with each other!
In this last part of Money Mindset Series, I like to sum up by talking about money and its relations to two important areas of our life: career and relationships .
Before I carry on, I like to qualify that I’m not the mercenary sort who believes that having lots of money equals having happiness. I do agree that money cannot buy happiness. However, in our world today, money has a lot of influences on other areas of life which leads to fulfillment.
The chart below shows the positive influence that you will have on career and relationships when you manage your money well. I will elaborate on them next.
MONEY’S INFLUENCE ON CAREER
A year ago, I read an article about a growing trend of people making major career switches from high-paying jobs to lower paying ones. These people are mostly executives and professionals who were earning 6-figures annual salaries in the banking, finance and consulting sectors. To many people, positions with salaries like these are dream jobs that many would die for. Yet this group of new age professionals left these highly sought after position to become an artist, a restaurant owner, a food connoisseur…
The news caused quite a buzz and was a common water-cooler chat topic. Some thought that these folks are crazy. On the contrary, it all fits what I advocating about a balanced life and doing meaningful work:
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Importance Of Quality Of Life - other than money, people today are starting to realize the importance in quality of life. There’s no point in slogging your life away at a 6-figures-salary job when you have no fulfillment from that work and have no time for other areas of your live. The fact that these people made such a drastic career switch for a much lower paying salary is a firm testimony that money alone does not provide us fulfillment.
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Freedom Of Choice - I also notice these people have the financial foundation to enjoy a freedom of choice in their career . Only when you have a certain level of financial stability can you boldly make such a drastic career switch.
This is exactly what I have been advocating throughout the Money Mindset Series.
When I speak to people about getting a career that they love, the most common response I get is that they can’t afford to do so; they have financial commitments and liabilities that doesn’t allow them to take such a risky career moves.
My opinion is that chasing your passion in this age is no longer just an idealistic pursue. It is a mandatory path to being exceptional so that you remain competitive in this fast-moving age. Only when you do what you love, then you will have the sustainability to put in the extra mileage needed to become exceptional.
And to enable yourself to do what you love, you need to manage your money well to facilitate the freedom of choice in your career. An idealistic pursue as this will require an economical solution to make possible.
(My next series on Passion & Work will elaborate on this discussion further. )
MONEY’S INFLUENCE ON RELATIONSHIPS
Have you seen couples who constantly bickers over money? I do. If you look around you, it’s easy to find families and couples whose focuses are often distracted by money issues…
I remember an interview I once saw; it’s an interview with a group of six multi-millionaires. When asked what they want to be remembered for when they die, they unanimously want to be remembered for being a good husband/wife, father/mother or son/daughter. None of them wanted to be remembered for how many millions of dollars they have!
Obviously, this should not be a surprise to us. The most important things in our life are our relationships, there’s no doubt about that. Yet, what’s the proportion of our daily attention/energy that are spent between relationship and money?
Ironical as it may seem, this is the fact surrounding us today. Why? Well, relationship issues seldom have the urgency that money issues does. We need money to bring bread to the table; we need money to pay the bills; we need money to buy what we want or need. Every single aspect of our life is linked to money in one way or another.
Having money certainly doesn’t mean that your relationships will be smooth-sailing. However, we should really manage our money well, so that we don’t let money issues become an issue in our relationships.
When money is managed well, you have more time and energy to focus on what really matters - the people in your life.
CLOSING REMARKS
So now, do you think money can buy happiness? Probably not. You won’t have happiness simply because you have money.
However, without good management of your money, I can say that your chances of happiness are even slimmer.
Although this argument may sound overly pragmatic to some, the fact remains that money is a central concept in our world today. Almost every activity and object in your life can be tied back to money. If money is so ubiquitous, how can you possibly not be negatively affected by the poor management of it?
I hope the Money Mindset Series has highlighted some points worth considering and hopefully trigger some reviews on your mindset about money. Whether you love or hate money, I believe that learning to manage it is a necessary ingredient to happiness, and this alone warrants an in-depth discussion to generate awareness. I hope this series have served the purpose of creating this awareness.
So what do you think? Is money necessary for happiness?
Money problems can sometimes get couples closer!
I know that from experience, but the point was that it was known to last only 10 (!) years.
I also have examples of two kinds of grandparents. The others want to give their grandchildren their time, the others money. I think you can guess which ones the grandchildren favour.
Otherwise I agree with you.
I have just been thinking that we people are so different. Others need so much more to satisfy their needs…
Hi Leena, good to hear from you again!
How can money problems get couples closer… Care to share some examples? Are you saying the working out the problems helps get them closer?
Hi Lawrence,
first I must again remind about our society. In Finland women are as equal with men as they can ever get (I think), and as a result we take part in providing the family.
The roles between the partners in different families vary, but regarding mine, we make decisions about spending money together.
At the time when we had trouble with money, huge loans and a business which went down, both of us were needed to decide what was the most important to buy and where we should buy it. There was not much money to spend so everything had to be planned carefully. Both of us had learned tricks to cope with less money from home. We are so old that our parents have been part of building the welfare after World War II.
Discussing and planning the budget was getting me and my husband closer but of course it was relevant that we very much share the same opinions. I don’t remember very many times when we had argued about money. I remember only one time and it was all my fault; I was angry with my husband because he had spent too much money on my birhtday present!
Now that money is no issue any more, both can buy things they want never even asking the other one’s opinion. That is handy but not so satisfactory.
I have to add one very valuable thing from the time we had those troubles. It actually makes me feel that there is no such bad thing that it would not have benefits also. Our children, who are grown-up now, learned that if they want to get something, they must earn the money themselves. Both have succeeded in life better than some of their friends who got everything they asked for from their parents. They also learned the value of good education while doing those low-paying jobs. Education is totally free here, but some young people are not so keen on having it.
Hi Leena,
once again, thanks for sharing your valuable experiences.
It seems to me that you and your husband are one of the minority couples who actually take conscious efforts to discuss money issues between couples. My experience so far tells me most couples don’t discuss how to handle money as a couple.
Knowing where you are coming from, I do agree that when couples aim to resolve money issues together, you do get closer together, cause you simply get some much more understanding of each other.
About free education. I think making it free is a problem, because people tend to take free things for granted. I have read about students who work part-time to support their school fees, and they slog like hell to achieve outstanding results. Simply because the education means so much more to them.
Great article, as always! I think you are right - money is pervasive in our lives. We cannot pay our mortgage or buy our food without it. At the same time, we cannot allow ourselves to identify our bank balance as “us.” How much money we have in the bank is not who we are. What kind of car we drive is not who we are. But why not drive a nice car, or have a healthy nest egg? Those are good things! There needs to be a balance between seeing money as a useful tool in the world, and seeing money as the end goal.
When I read the title of the article, a saying I once read came to mind: “Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy you the type of misery you prefer.” I always thought that was pretty amusing.
Blessings,
Andrea
Wow Andrea,
You fully understand where I’m coming from… thanks.
“Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy you the type of misery you prefer.”
This is a funny twist of what we talking about here, but it does have some sense.
Thanks for sharing.
Finding your title very interesting read and so is the content. I do believe in all entity.
I have no fat bank account and other you can call luxuries in life but I do have a very happy family life.
I have a very supportive family who knows our wants and needs.
“Happiness is not measured by how much you have but by enjoying the things that you have.”
Hi Pmonchet,
Welcome to A Long Long Road, glad to have you here
“Happiness is not measured by how much you have but by enjoying the things that you have.”
Great phrase! I really like it very much. So much wisdom in it.
Thanks for sharing Pmonchet.
Hey Lawrence,
I just came from BloggingZoom checking your post (and Zoomed it
)and you’re right on so many points.
What I have discovered after becoming financially free is that there is a much greater peace in my mind.
We are not aware how much of the time we constantly worry about the future and where the money will come from or whether our income will someday stop.
But once you are free and have secured the freedom with the constant flow of money through an online business (or offline for that matter), you can finally compare the state of mind “before” and “after”
I’ve also written a post a while ago that gives another perspective on money and happiness:
Why Money Is Only One Third of Happiness
I’m glad I found your blog so I’ll stick around for a while…
Best regards,
Tomaz Mencinger
Hi Tomaz,
welcome and thanks for dropping by. I’m glad you have found my blog and recommended yours. I have subscribed to your blog as well
Looking forward to exchanging notes in the future.
Great post!
You’ve hit the nail on the head when you wrote “money has a lot of influences on other areas of life which leads to fulfillment”. Unfortunately I think money and happiness go hand in hand, you may not be able to “buy” happiness, but money paves the way for a better, healthier lifestyle.
Then again, the whole concept of money itself becomes absolutely ridiculous and pathetic when you hear about a kid dying from a bloody tooth infection cause the family couldn’t afford to see a doctor, or people commiting suicide over financial issues. Debts, bills, mortgages, it all adds up.
When you say money, it always makes me think of Bill Gates and how he could feed the whole of Africa with what he earns in a couple months. I don’t know how millionaires and billionaires can go about collecting an immense amount of cash and not rid themselves of at least some of their fortune at one point. I cannot imagine that too much of something could possibly make you happy, I guess it’s like chocolate, enjoy it in moderation and it lifts your spirit, binge on it and you’ll be sick.
Anyway, I really like your post, you’ve clearly put a lot of thought and effort into it.
Hi Tamara,
thanks for the compliment. I think you have made some pretty good points yourself.
I guess for multi-millionaires and billionaires like Bill Gates, where money is no longer an issue, they are seeking fulfillment of a different nature. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it’s term SELF-ACTUALIZATION. It simply means a sense of fulfillment by giving the best of yourself to contribute to others’ lives.
That’s why you see so many rich people donate lots of money. Because by giving, you do feel like you have made a difference.
Oh yes! Welcome to A Long Long Road. Please come back often, if you like what you find here. I believe our readers will gain much from your valuable insights.
and I forgot to say great blog too!
“So what do you think? Is money necessary for happiness?”
Well, since you asked…
No, I don’t believe that money are necessary for happiness. Making money is an easy job. *Too easy* once you figure out some essential concepts…
On the other hand, achieving happiness is more complicated. It is sometimes advertised to be as easy as one-two-three, but the truth is that reaching happiness is a more complex process than that. One needs to be balanced in all the essential aspects of his life in order to be truly happy. Money doesn’t represent an essential aspect of life.
PS: Even if money can, in some cases, bring one closer to happiness, there are two other possibilities: (1) bring you closer, but never *to* it; (2) set you back 100 spots on the path to happiness.
Hi Armannd,
Even though you said ‘no’, I think we’re talking about the same stuff. Just that your ‘packaging’ is a little different.
Achieving happiness is more complicated than earning money, that I definitely agree. And you’re also mentioned that “one needs to be balanced in all the essential aspects of life to be truly happy”. I guess in your case, your definition of essential aspects doesn’t include money.
To be honest, this is something that I’m struggling with as well - how do you think a person can be happy when there are debts and not having enough money for the day-to-day essentials like bills, food, shelter etc…?
If we can be truly be happy without consideration of money, I will be happy to advocate that as well. But my life experiences and observations so far has tell me otherwise.
I’m glad we share some common ground here. We’re indeed talking about the same thing, it’s just that we’re doing it from two different positions.
“How do you think a person can be happy when there are debts and not having enough money for the day-to-day essentials like bills, food, shelter etc…?”
Well, it’s really simple in theory: free yourself from the societal essentials. Bills aren’t essential to the human nature. Money represents an essential tool of today’s society, but we shouldn’t confuse the human nature with the human society. They are two very different things.
In some African countries, people actually live without any money. Sure, they have their own worries and issues, but I believe most of them are happier than we are. And, again, they live without money.
Freeing ourselves from the money leash is the same as getting rich: we all want it, but only a few of us are prepared to do what it takes to make it happen.
Money was never supposed to buy happiness. If anything, they’re supposed to take our thoughts away from it.
Sorry, typo: “If anything, it’s supposed to take our thoughts away from it.”
Hi Armannd,
Then I’m afraid we stand differently on this.
“Free ourselves from societal essentials” is an altruistic thinking - it’s a matter of fact that bills are an integral part of our society, even if it is not essential to human nature.
All my readers have Internet access and that implies they live in the modern society where money is necessary for basic livelihood. This group of people is who I’m targeting and directing the question at.
Unless we tell everyone to give up their lives, go live in caves or some desert, money is inherently an issue we need to grapple with. As such, it makes sense to manage it well, so that our happiness is not negatively affected by money.
As a matter of fact, we stand exactly in the same place!
The only problem being the slight vagueness of the question (”Is money necessary for happiness?”).
I completely agree with you that money needs to be managed well and I agree that money represents a necessary factor for basic living. However, the question doesn’t seem to have a frame - on earth, in society, in the woods, underground, on Mars, in the past/present/future, etc.
At any rate, money doesn’t positively influence one’s happiness, but their lack *could* negatively affect it.
Oh and by the way, nicely written article!
Thanks for the clarification, Armannd.
It’s all clear now. Which remains me of a song, forgot the title, but the lyrics goes:
” I can see clearly now, the rain is gone… I can see no obstacle in my way…”
hahaha…! Have a good day, my friend.
Is money necessary for happiness?
If you want to live a normal life in the modern, urban world, then it is a resounding YES. If you want to live a reclusive, hermitic sort of life that is devoid of any and all modern conveniences, and you want to be completely in the hands of fate and nature (if all that is even practically possible anymore), then maybe not.
Since many have quoted approppriate quotes above, let me mention one that comes to mind which is very similar to the one Andrea talked about: “Money can’t buy happiness, but it can certainly buy you the time to look for it at leisure.”
I think that is as accurate a statement about the importance of money as any.
Haha Samir,
Looks like for many of us, the option of living like a hermit is out. We can’t blog without Internet access!
Is there any hermit there has Internet access?
I actually know quite a few! I really do.
Money is evil. But ‘evil’ isn’t ‘evil’ in the negative way that we’re used to. Evil is just what is positive; it makes its own existence felt.
Why do I feel like we’re confusing happiness with comfort and other feelings? Because if that’s the case, then we’re like blind people discussing the colors of a Rembrandt…
I’m starting to feel that a definition for the “happiness” the question refers to is needed.
PS: Even if it may sound overly altruistic, I’m starting to go back on what I wrote a few comments prior to this and start believing that money are not required for happiness. At all.
PPS: Etymology of “career”: road for carts.
Note: I’m not arguing the usefulness of the article, because I think it’s very good!
Valid point Armannd,
It was my consideration, the definition of happiness, but I decided to leave that open.
Well, fact is that happiness does mean different things to different people, and that will digress the discussion.
So I’ll just leave happiness to each reader’s own definition. And to that definition , if money has any impact at all.
We don’t have to agree, the point is to have a constructive exchange of views.
Money itself cannot buy happiness. But it can definitely be a stress reliever, and a less stressed person is bound to be happier than one living paycheck to paycheck.
Hi Jeremy,
Welcome to “A Long Long Road”!
Yup, I agree with you. Stress about money is just uncalled for, if we manage it properly. I see you have an interesting blog about consumers corner. Is there targeted at consumer spending or anything like that?
money brings in stress nd lust to get more money .
lust for money can be dangerous as life s only aim then becomes to gain money nd more money
but happiness leave u nd u r soul .
You make a great point here. I wholeheartedly agree that lusting after money can bring as much unahappiness as not having any money in bad circumstamces.
But I guess this is where the discussions breaks off into the standard question we human beings ask about every object or concept in our world, “Is it good or evil?” Unfortunalely, the concept that lifeless things or ideas can be good or evil is an over-simplified misconception on our parts. Money by itself is no more evil than science is evil.
The problem arises because as our civilization has progressed (I use that word very broadly for some aspects of our development), we have lost touch with what money actually is and why we invented it. Money was meant to be a marker, a stand-in for value in our society, but we have forgotten that it is a means to an end and not an end in itself. Ultimately that is the root of the sadness and evil attributed to money. That is a misconception that we would all do well to wipe out from our minds and those of our children.
Hi WatchHollywood Moives and Samir,
This is a great discussion point!
I think Samir makes a lot of sense, money by itself is just a tool, a concept. It’s people’s intention that makes it evil or otherwise.
When people chase money as an end to itself, money becomes twisted and leads to an empty life.
Coincidentally, I have talked about the same things in Part I of Career Lover Series. Please check it out and tell me what you think! I think you’ll find some points that rings with you
This could be one of those questions where we learn something by turning it around: Can money make you sad? Or maybe the question that we can easily answer is: Have you seen poor money management make a mess of someone’s life? We’ve all seen that, hopefully from a distance. So maybe money can’t make you happy, but mishandling it can sure make you sad.
Thanks for sharing these words of wisdom Mike!
“Have you seen poor money management make a mess of someone’s life?”
I see that a lot! So much that it breaks my heart and prompted me to write this series.
I think Samir has made a great point:
Having said that, I can’t get wait to get my iPhone!!
Say you are being brought up within an isolated community that doesn’t rely on money to survive,
you wouldn’t even know that it exists, therefore it wouldn’t affect your happiness in the slightest way.
It’s argueably a better way of living when look at all the misery money can bring in our modern society.
A money note itself is just a piece of paper and cannot bring you happiness,
it’s what you can do with it and that’s all down to humankind.
We decided that money was essential and if you have none, you’ll be without shelter and food.
But would we need it to survive? No way, unless someone’s figured out how to produce edible notes…we have chosen to make money one of our basic “needs” because no matter how generous and caring we may be on the surface, we can also be greedy and rotten to the core
Great points, Tamara.
Also, I must point out that by mentioning edible notes, being rotten to the core, and the iPhone, you have confirmed all the ancient rumours and my worst fears … the Apple is the root of all evil after all!
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Hahaha, this is a nice funny break from a discussion that is getting a little too solemn.
Having said that, I think Tamara has make some great points. Thanks Tamara.
[…] discussing Can Money Buy Happiness, I highlighted an interview with a group of 6 multi-millionaires. During the interview, when they […]
Thanks Samir & Lawrance, I do what I can
Oh yes definitely! I blame Apple entirely for my humble self being materialistic and wanting an iPhone!
Have a safe and merry Christmas everyone!
Hahaha Tamara,
well, let’s see if Apple gets their ‘just deserve’ one day.
And you have a Merry Christmas too!
If a couple is not solid financial matters will not matter sooner or later it will not work. Great post and got my Zoom. Happy Holidays from Blogging Zoom!!!
Vic
Great point Vic,
Financial matters between a couple is something important that a couple should openly discuss and manage as a couple as well. Many relationships fail between of their oversight in this area. Thanks for bringing this up.
And thanks for the zoom! Happy New Year to you too.
Money doesn’t bring hapiness. But when one is earning a lot of money, one can stop worrying about making the ends meet. You can eat better food, visit places that interest you and the most important: help others who are in need. Money relieves stress and suffering for people who need food, medical care and education. Of course you can always live happily with a little money because relationships are the most important, like the inner peace too. Money just makes life easier and makes possible to do some things, that’s it.
Agree - “Money just makes life easier and makes possible to do some things, that’s it”
well i think money does not buy hapiness it just fulfil the requirements of basic needs thats it the most important is your relationshipz which u have in your life if u have money no relation in your life than it has a great effect on your life the happiness which u get from the relation or the love one it doesnot have any comparison with ur money its more than money money cannot buy happiness.
Hi,
It is true that find money a person forget himself……it is really nice post…..
Hi,
What are some reasons why money can’t buy happiness?