At 45 yrs old, I'd say money both can and can't buy me happiness. It just depends on the situation. I'll give examples: Money Can Buy Happiness: 1) I love buying new cars when I want to. Can't beat that new car smell. 2) Worry about the cost of utilities, gas, etc.? Furgetaboutit. 3) Get out and cut my half acre of grass in the Georgia sun? What are you kidding me? Jose's gotta make some dough too. 4) The wife says she gotta have this and that and she wants to change the furniture again. Don't question it, just write the check. No stress here. At least not usually. 5) My son has to have the newest Xbox 360 games at $60 a pop. No stress here. Well I have to admit, I enjoy a good FPS too. 6) Private school for my son so he doesn't have to go thru gang initiation in the government middle school. That makes me real happy. 7) Drinking a beer at a cafe in an alpine town in Switzerland after a nice First Class flight. Absolutely sweet. Money Can't Buy Happiness: 1) You can't buy a long term great marriage. Just like compounding money, it takes TIME. 2) You can't buy long term friendships. I still keep in touch with guys from high school & college. 3) You can't buy a son that you love and looks just like you (at least not yet) and all the great experiences that go along with having a child. 4) Long hiking/backpacking trips to remote western US locations to flyfish in some of the most breathtakingly beautiful places a person could ever see. Priceless. Used to be free when I lived out there. 5) Just a hot cup of coffee on on a winter Sunday morning, with a good fire going and a good trading book (free from the library). Give balance to your life. It's that simple.
Some of you guys and gals are out of your mind. Of course money CAN buy happiness. Maybe it's only superficial and maybe it's only temporary, but it's happiness none-the-less. It doesn't buy happiness for everybody of course, maybe not even the majority. Give a miserable person money and they'll probably still be miserable. But, to think that money can't buy happiness to any extent for anybody is ridiculous. Of course there are rich people that aren't happy. But there are plenty of rich people who are as well. The title of the tread is "Money can't buy happiness", which is dead wrong, IMO.
I'd rather be rich and unhappy than poor and unhappy. Nonetheless, I got a hot ballerina girlfriend whose rich and I'm very happy.
Completely agree. It's funny how I was pretty much bitched at because of when I said it earlier. I was just stating that money can, and does buy happiness. I also suggested that a more proper thread title should be "How long can money provide you happiness" or something along those lines. But yes, money CAN buy the happiness, so therefore the OP and the thread is completely false. I don't even have that much money, but I guarantee when I now finally could afford to do things "like take lessons for flying" that it made me happy, and if I didn't have money I could not have done it. Same thing goes for education, and for food, for shelter. It all requires money.
The only unhappy rich folks I know are those worried about maintaining and growing their current levels of wealth. Except for this, if someone is rich and still unhappy, he's probably a useless moron who inherited his wealth. If you're rich and unhappy, you need to get back on whatever medication you stopped taking. On the other hand, I sure do see a lot of starving unhappy people on late night tv asking me to donate money.
Happiness is: 1. Falling in love. 2. Laughing so hard your face hurts. 3. A hot shower. 4. No lines at the supermarket. 5. A special glance. 6. Getting mail. 7. Taking a drive on a pretty road. 8. Hearing your favourite song on the radio. 9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside. 10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer. 11. Chocolate milkshake ... (or vanilla ... or strawberry!) 12. A bubble bath. 13. Giggling. 14. A good conversation. 15. The beach 16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter. 17. Laughing at yourself. 18. Eye contact with a hot member of the opposite sex. 19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours. 20. Running through sprinklers. 21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all. 22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful/good looking. 23. Laughing at an inside joke. 24. Friends. 25. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you. 26. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep. 27. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner). 28. Making new friends or spending time with old ones. 29. Playing with a new puppy. 30. Having someone play with your hair. 31. Sweet dreams. 32. Hot chocolate. 33. Road trips with friends. 34. Swinging on swings. 35. Making eye contact with a cute stranger. 36. Making chocolate chip cookies (and eating them...!). 37. Having your friends send you homemade cookies. 38. Holding hands with someone you care about. 39. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change. 40. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much-desired present from you. 41. Watching the sunrise. 42. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day. 43. Knowing that somebody misses you. 44. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply. 45. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.
Money can not buy love, love is happiness. "All you need is love" - remember that one? That is the only thing that a human soul requires to be truly happy, no matter what the circumstances are. In a materialistic world that we live in, happiness would always be misinterpreted IMHO.