Money or Happiness
MONEY OR HAPPINESS: WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT?
When we focus on monetary goals, we run the risk of becoming trapped on the 'hedonic treadmill'
Here's the opening paragraph from my forthcoming book, Your Money: The Missing Manual. It's the sum of everything I've learned during my five year journey to get rich slowly:
"You don't want to be rich — you want to be happy. Many people mistakenly believe that the former leads to the latter. While it's certainly true that money can help you achieve your goals, provide for your future, and make life more enjoyable, merely having money doesn't guarantee happiness."
Many of us (including me) get wrapped up in the belief that having more money is the key to a better life. But it's not. The key to a better life is increased happiness. For some people, that does mean more money. But according to the research Tal Ben-Shahar shares in his book Happier, most of us would be better served by:
Creating rituals around the things we love to do.
Expressing gratitude for the good things in our lives.
Setting meaningful goals that reflect our values and interests.
Playing to our strengths instead of dwelling on weaknesses.
Simplifying our lives — not just the Stuff, but the time.
We're more likely to lead happy lives by putting these principles into practice than by getting another raise at work — especially if the increased income would only lead to increased spending. When we focus on monetary goals, we run the risk of becoming trapped on the "hedonic treadmill" (also known as lifestyle inflation), working harder and harder to make more and more money. This does not lead to happiness.
SOMETIMES MONEY CAN BUY HAPPINESS
Wealth and happiness aren't mutually exclusive, of course. According to financial writer Jonathan Clements, financial stability improves well-being in three ways:
If you have money, you don't have to worry about it. By living below your means, you can obtain a degree of financial control even if you aren't rich. Avoiding debt gives you options.
Money can give you the freedom to pursue your passions. What is it you want out of life? What gives you a sense of purpose? These are the sorts of things you want to pursue in retirement. Better yet, try to structure your career around something you love to do.
Money can buy you time with friends and family. In fact, Clements says, true wealth comes from relationships, not from dollars and cents. Social capital is worth more than financial capital.
Money is a tool. As with any tool, a skilled craftsman can use it to build something amazing: A meaningful life filled with family and friends. But if you're not careful, if you don't have a plan, the life you construct with your money can be a tenuous thing — even dangerous.
LESSONS LEARNED
Studies show that the pursuit of money is less likely to bring personal fulfillment than focusing on self-improvement and, especially, close relationships with others. Here are a handful of lessons I've learned during my research into the connection between money and wealth. I didn't come up with any of these ideas; they're products of actual research into what makes us happy:
People who are materialistic tend to be less happy than those who aren't. If your aim is to have more money and more Stuff, you'll be less content than others whose goals are built around relationships or mental/spiritual fulfillment. (Because I'm a perma-geek, I'm always reminded of what Princess Leia says to Han Solo in Star Wars: "IF MONEY IS ALL THAT YOU LOVE, THEN THAT'S WHAT YOU'LL RECEIVE.")
Oversaving does not lead to happiness. While it's important to save for the future (and to cope with current emergencies), research shows that oversaving can actually have a negative impact on your quality of life. If you're meeting your goals for saving, it's okay to spend some on the things that make you happy.
Experiences tend to make us happier than material things. We have different reactions to the money we spend on experiences and the money we spend on Stuff: When we spend on experiences, our perceptions are magnified (meaning we feel happier or sadder than when we spend on Stuff), and the feelings tend to linger longer. And since most of our experiences are positive, spending on activities instead of material goods generally makes us happier.
When we lower our expectations, our happiness increases. High expectations come when we compare ourselves to others or when we're bombarded by advertising.
We come to accept the things we see on TV as "normal", and because we don't have these things, we feel inadequate. Our expectations rise, and before long we're caught up in lifestyle inflation. But if we can consciously manage our expectations — both financial and otherwise — we can increase our sense of well-being.
Really, there's only one way to ever be satisfied with how much money you have: You must define how much is Enough. True happiness comes when you learn to be content with what you have. If you don't take the time to figure out what Enough means to you, you'll always be unhappy with your financial situation.
HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
Enough looks different to each of us. It's not just different amounts of money, but different types of wealth. For me, Enough is having my home paid off and cash set aside to let me buy books and go out to dinner with my wife once in a while. For you, Enough may mean living in a small apartment but owning a boat and having the freedom to sail for months at a time.
To find Enough, you have to set goals. You have to look inside to find your values. It can take months or years to get clear on what makes a meaningful life for you, but after you've done this, you can make choices that reflect your priorities.
After all, that's why you're doing this. You're not building wealth just so you can bathe in buckets of cash. You're building wealth so you don't have to worry about money, so you can pursue your passions, and so you can spend time with your family and friends.
Remember, my friends: True wealth isn't about money. True wealth is about relationships, about good health, and about continued self-improvement. True wealth is about happiness. Ultimately, it's more important to be happy than it is to be rich.
By J.D. Roth, Bloomberg
research indicate 75K $ per year is enough to make you happy, any thing more or less causes unhappiness
money can buy happiness...
so i prefer MONEY....HAHHAHHA
money can give bed... but not sleep...
money can give wife...but not love....
money can make you young... but will not stop from death.
so you see...
there is no use if you have more money than you need....
the article is an eyeopener to those oversaving ones.... som just forget abt a family left beyond, thinkin of the more money thy mite get....
can any1 b so happy with lying in the bed full of money...
there r more happiness when v do a charity.... so thts it... cheers frnd... i likd ur open mindness...
aftr all v all came here to earn money.... LOL
hay hay....
come on...
give me a break...
now i am not at all bothered about money dear...
as i told you..
i am concentrating more on happiness..
and i like qatar than going to my own country...
take care........
have fun.......
thanks tinkerbell for your kind words.....
i just expressed my feelings dear....
really relaxed now...
this is the only reason why i like ql very much...
i am able to express my feelings.
you know...
take care gingle bell...
that sounds good than tinkerbell...
by the way........
i started to concentrate on happiness than money..
do u know how...?
become selfish...
think about my health, my food, my happiness.
and i find it really effective...
no tension.
good health.
and no worries about the future.
one day we all will die.
if its early, its good 4 me.
so not at all worried about food...
gudone.....
no heart feeling please............
i just told about my situation...
take care...
how many workers work under the hot sun????
how much they get in a month?
not more than 2500....
food?
accommodation?
what they will have?
i was working in a company where the receptionist got 4000 and i got 3000.... i am not a driver. i am an engineer.
every one is behind money.
nothing comes for free...
what you have told is 100% right
but in this world...
health....
good relations...
education...
friends...
nothing will be there without money....
even love...
suppose i gift a red rose to the girl i love.
and another rich man who wanted to marry her gifted a diamond ring.
what will be there in her mind?
whom she will prefer to marry?
she may think... see that man loves me more, he gifted me a diamond ring...
and she will never know that i was searched every garden to find the best red rose for her....
if some one is going in a bugatti, every one will be looking at him... not the one who walks on the road....
its not an easy thing to live here alone.
its not easy to left behind each and every back at home..
still we have come here...
and truth is...
we loose all the happy moments in our life...
we sacrifice our enjoyment, entertainment everything to save money and send it to home.
that money makes them happy...
and their happiness makes us live...
a lonely life.....
in the desert.......
i dint force u to read!!! its ur wish.... and its my wish to post it herelll
do you mind giving me a 5000 qr per month????
or just 500 qr per month??
because....
i am not able to keep my good health without food...
i am not able to buy my relatives what they need, bed to sleep, cloths to wear, food to eat...
i am not at all happy, because i am not able to give happiness to those who's life depends on me.... (my parents, my family...)
when ever i recharge my mobile with 10 qr and calls to india to hear my dear one's voice...
first question they ask me is...
did you send the money?
if i have enough money, then i will be in my own country...
with my friends, relatives and family...
and i will be happy with them...
and i will have good health also....
i dont want to be a rich man...
just want the happiness of those who depends on me.
i dont mind starving 1 day, if i can send that money to family so that they can eat and sleep well...
and that makes me more happy than eating a good food of a day...
post this to the people who thinks what i will do with my money....
not in between the people who thinks how to buy food for tomorrow...
I think a person should work to earn money but that does not mean you Compromise your Happiness.
Sadly Money is linked with Happiness.. :(
Transcendental thread from gudone. TFS.
I'll be out of work if there is no money, but I cannot work without fulfillment.
LOL kadav
Tulsidas Famous poem
Poot sapoot to ka dhan sanchay
Poot kapoot to ka dhan sanchay.
I hope you know hindi.
If son is good, no need to save money
If son is bad, no need to save money
The senior Ambani become rich at age of 50 or so. It is never too late,with hard work and some connections offcourse you could become rich. Let life bring riches of goodness in this world and good thereafter to all of us.
Nice topic.
Thought about it coz people seems to devote all their time to gain more money and forgot the most important one, which is quality time for family and time for God.
wow!!! amazing thought!!!
love this forum...even it takes time to read really
words by words i swallow for i to understand...
the best part???
HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
really i realized myself,
and noticed that THERE'S NO ENOUGH for me,
always ON NEED....waaaah!!!
u hit my soul!!!
You cant be happy without money
MONEY!more like it...;)
how about if we had them both... it's not like we have to choose one only!!
For me happiness is important...... If there is money everything is great, and if you don't have money then everyone will leave you and go........ Which is not right....
money can make u happy.
i feel the happiness that comes without money is real n long lasting.
I think you have to know how to be happy without money first, and if you can do that everything else just comes.
Money is very important and can make you very happy but its not everything!
Some people tend to forget that and go after the money without stopping to appreciate whats going right in the moment :) ...............Basically you have to smile and be happy no matter what :)
money makes a man happy...this is it....thats all...
Both thinks are linked............
FU...last Thursday...looked for happiness...everywhere at the Ramada car park...couldn't find any :(
maybe there was police raid :(
yes shapil... u said it...
Excellent article. Money is the means and not the end.
1. . Money might not make you happy, but I'd rather be unhappy with money than without.
2. Who says money is not important in life, never had any (money).
Money
FU well its up to you... its your choice... if you are happy to be alone, then why not... go ahead
FU, I am sure that was the moment of satisfaction they buy in those places rather than happiness. There would be more of guilt or regret later after using the services available there :-)
FU, y did u forget to mention MALDIVES or MALAYSIA???lol
snowwhite - I always thought of myself as an Island. Is that wrong?
money can buy every thing, money plays a very vital rule in everybodys life, but remeber no man is an island
drmana - People often find happines in Bangkok.:)
Some find it in the Ramada Car Park here.lol
As they say..." Money can buy happiness if you know where to shop " :-))
FU, i didn't say i want to be RICH..I just said that for me MONEY values a lot..I know how i have born with and so i know my limitations..I have seen many ups and downs in my life and never want my child to suffer same...So wanna have a SAFE DEPOSIT for my child so that she shldn't suffer like us..I can't be AMBANI atleast in my this birth..Thus i know where is my saturation point and for how long i shld try to achieve something better for our life..
Soniya - Being rich takes away a lot cares and everyday worries and allows one to focus on more important things in life and thats really fabulous. Lucky are those who do not need to be bothered about the next meal and also the ones who can own a yatch and travel to distant shores.
That was really the great thought actually..But u know for me MONEY plays a pivotal role in my life..It values a lot for me...Happiness will come atuomatically if u have enough money to lead ur normal life..
"No money..No honey!"
Period! :P
Both are important IMO. Money is slightly more important as it brings happiness. Happiness doesn't bring money always.