Can Money buy Happiness?

[anshulseth]

Hi ppl,

Its long since I initiated a chain, so thot of doing it.
The other day I was going thro. an article which talked abt happiness, money and their relationship.
I would like the group to comment on tht.

The question was: How important is money for happiness?
n Can money buy happiness?

Here is my take on this.
Money has always played a very major role in bringing happiness, but it has its limitations.
Ask a beggar what a 100 rupee note means to him, and his eyes can tell u the answer.
The same money may b inconsequential for a rich brat.
The power of money in evry1's lives is unquestionable.
After all, y does most of the ppl work n work hard. Its for money.
Wht matters most to a company, of course its bottomlines.
N wht abt a country, budget document is the most important policy document as far as a govt. goes.
The more the merrier.
The more money a person has, or a company has, or a country has, the more reputed and successful it is.

That brings me to another point.
In today's society, the fatter ur paypacket, the better u r placed in society.
The no. of luxuries u hv defines ur status in the society.

I remmber abt a term called "Quasimodic Effect", which means the healing effect that buying does on a person's mental health at tht moment.
It is observed, tht generally ppl feel much better after shopping, a sense of contentment comes in.
So, even some docs hv suggested rich ppl to go shopping the moment they feel they r buttressed by dark thots.

But, here comes the paradox.
If wht all i said was so much true, n happiness was just a slave to money y does the super rich society has so much discontent, cases of depression, suicides, higfh risk behaviour.

Tht means there is sthg wrong with the notion.
Like a product cycle, money also follows the law of diminishing returns when it reaches the saturation point.
i.e. After a point, money loses its value n becomes inconsequential to lives.
Enof of nething is bad, n tht applies 2 money also.

Another angle to this argument is, can happiness only b judged in the realm of money, or happiness has sthg else to it.

Which brings abt a thot, tht happiness is actually the state of mind at a transient moment. It is ephemeral. One moment u feel u r happy, the next u feel u r not.

So, happiness in a sense is peace of mind.
Why do v find such calm n happiness on spiritual gurus, who sell nothing or don't earn tht much, or don't enjoy the luxuries of life.
A class IV labour may also hv the equivalent contented sleep if he has done good work throughout the day, n is satisfied with life.

All in all, i feel money very well plays a role in happiness,but only 2 an extent.After tht, its just ur state of mind.

i think u ppl must hv got the crux of wht aspects i wish to touch upon in this topic.

So, shoot ur gutfeel, to carry the chain forward.

[Editor]

My gutfeel is that whatever you say about money; it being a dirty word and so on…for a satisfying life you can’t do without it also.

The more important thing, which I would like to put into perspective, is the question that what you ultimately do with your money, how you manage it…

If you are putting in hard work to earn for a living then I think the paycheck you receive from your company at the end of the month will make you very contented and happy. Whereas, if a person is not earning by employing the right means, he/she will never be happy about the income.

I feel money does act as a motivator and induces us to achieve the basic luxuries that we desire in life, but after that it does not contribute to the happiness part at all. Happiness is a state of mind, a feeling that you experience at the end of the day that makes life worth living. Money can buy short-term happiness but not long-term satisfaction.

[usathyan]

The latest mastercard ad - featuring Simpsons, during the superbowl goes something like this....diapers, milk, detergent - $25, oil change - $20, Hair cut - $75, spending more time with the famliy: priceless. For everything else, there is mastercard.

True to the heart!

Watch the ad here - http://video.craveonline.com/video/series/superbowl_ads/?showVideo=247

[anshulseth]

I wud like to argue on some points put forward by the Editor.

"for a satisfying life you can’t do without it also"
I hv already stated this in the previous article, but i wud stress it again.
"Satisfaction" like Happiness is a relative term.
Satisfaction is calm state of mind, n so it is not only money tht plays a role.
there are other factors also.
Taking a line from Master card " There are some things money can't buy".

"I feel money does act as a motivator and induces us to achieve the basic luxuries that we desire in life"

secondly, this idea is disputable. There has been growing acknowledgement that job satisfaction has become the most important factor in the professional life.
Ppl r ready to compromise on money if the job allows them to do wht they want, or wish.
Money generally comes second.

" if a person is not earning by employing the right means, he/she will never be happy about the income. "
Here i wud say tht if a person is not sincere in his work and lacks integrity, the guilt of earning more than he deserve will never arise in his mind in the first place.
Such ppl r way beyond the mindset to think on those lines.

[Urbanangel]

I think it is an interesting but also debatable discussion. Here you are trying to relate money directly to the happiness quotient, the problem being that there are other factors also which aftect happiness. If you come to think of it, then the environment in which you live, both at your workplace and at home, your family, friends, your ability to cope with stressful situations all affetct the happiness quotient to some extent. I would also add what plenty of spiritual guru's are emphasising these days, that if you are focussed inward rather than outward, then it also contributes to your well-being and happiness.

Thus to put up a question 'can money buy happiness' is itself debatable

[Matt]

I think that money is as important for happiness as sugar is to coffee. You might feel that money is not a factor when you have it, but when you don't it certainly limits your options. Th mastercard add seems a grand statement but it also subtly states that you require basic money for survival.