Are we talking about poverty against having a normal amount of money to live in relative comfort, or are we talking about having a normal amount of money to live in relative comfort against having an obscene amount of $? The difference is substantial. For the latter case I'm more than sure , money is not the answer to your happiness. It's just a temporary substitute
Money is my master! ...... o'money, i am your slave.... command me money, o sweet money, i am here to do your bidding.......
Yes, but not for the money itself....as mentioned before (the obvious)... Without money...family ignores you, society thinks you're lazy. With money..family moves in with you, never leaves, tells you what you want to hear, LOL... Without money...crappy car -or- waste money on expensive car to keep up pretenses. With money...cars? who cares...(BTW, I drive a Dodge)... Without money...pay interest With money...collect interest Without money...ask others for money With money...learn to say "no" when someone asks, LOL MOSTLY JOKING, of course... Do what you love, and all that is every bit as important as the bottom line.... Live "BELOW" means...(my brother has a $300K house, and made $20 million last year alone). INDEPENDENCE - FREEDOM - FUN.... FWIW...."Live well, and smile often" - Don
Being a moderatly wealthy person I agree about living below your means, and your other points...but man, theres living below your means and and then taking the pi$$! While obviously each to their own, does there not come the point when you think, well, what do I need the other XX millions for? Is this one of the curses of some wealthy people, scared of losing it all thus become too overly covetous? Keep making as much money as possible but scared to spend it.
i read someplace that warren buffett lives in a modest house in the same neighborhood for many years. i think in many cases its roots that are more important than a new house. family, friends, schools, driving times to work ect. i think money alone cant make you happy but it can make you comfortable in life. its easier to be happy when you have the ability to do the kind of work you love instead of working at something you hate just to scrape by.
He still lives in the same house that he bought 40 or 50 years ago, but that doesn't say how many vocation homes he and his former wife owns (3 to 4 in some of the most exotic locales). edit: he also made a major extention/expansion to the house in 1993 (don't quote me on the year).
I teach High School Economics and read your posts to try to learn a few things and dream about someday trading the types of accounts that some of you talk about trading. My teaching salary barely feeds my wife (also a teacher) and 2 kids. I tell my students that teaching is what makes me happy, it's obviously not my paycheck, but I'd be happier if they doubled my pay. What it all comes down to though is that... Money gives you the option but not the obligation to be happy, before your date of expiration .
i also think a lot has to do with how much money you have relative to the people you interact with day to day. that's just human nature. a villager in a 3rd world country is totally happy making $200 a month selling goat milk because everyone else in his village makes only $50 per month. all his peers look up to him. a back office person at an ibank in nyc is totally miserable because he only earns $80K per year and people in his company treat him like dirt.