Does money make you happy?

Yes, it does. Not the money itself, but money well used is power, money is freedom, money is choices. Money can also be space and even time (i.e. any money you make from passive income doesn't have to be made by the sweat of your brow spending time at a dreadful job).

No, but the lack of money makes me sad.

If you were sad and depressed before you had money, guess what? You’ll be sad and depressed with money.

No money=no electricity.... so yeah...I'm pretty happy when the fridge works....

Money is not problem free, but it makes the day to day easier.

r3: That depends on what you were sad and depressed about...

Who said he had money?

As Oprah said: "It [money] can pave the way."

It doesn’t hurt.

I would love to have money to see a therapist once or twice a week to straighten out my fucked up childhood & life! Once I get that all figured out then I’d probably be able to make some money.

I’ve been filthy rich and dirt poor. I’ve been the happiest during the poor days. Having lots of money is stressful.

I think when you have enough to feel secure, pay the bills, and have a little left over to enjoy yourself, that’s the sweet spot. Past that, being obscenely wealthy just makes it more difficult to know who you can trust, and too much leisure time and the inability to appreciate the value of a dollar can lead to excess (drugs, sex, financial risk taking, etc) which rarely ends well. Mo money, mo problems.

R12 nailed it.

I love the feel of it and the smell of it, and I love to dive around in it like a porpoise and burrow through it like a gopher and toss it up and let it hit me on the head!

I've been poor, and I've been rich. Rich is better.

When I had a secure income, the more the better life could be. As I retire, the insecurity of that income is depressing and causes anxiety. Even though my financial planner states that my investments and other income sources will allow me to keep my lifestyle to at least 95, I am having a difficult time adjusting.

Of course money doesn't make you happy. But it makes being poor a helluva lot easier!

[quote] I would love to have money to see a therapist once or twice a week to straighten out my fucked up childhood & life! Once I get that all figured out then I’d probably be able to make some money.

R10, when I was younger and broker, I got therapy from students doing clinical hours. Sounds risky, but I got some good advice and it did help me. There was a sliding scale fee, based on your income. Good luck!

Yes, up to a certain point. I can only drive one car, only live in one house, have no interest in owning boats or planes, no interest in fashion. Past a couple of million or so I cant see the point

R12 is right, also R3 to some extent, if you are a mess poor, you may still be one rich, although keeping on top of bills wont make you down any more

Anyone who says money doesn't buy happiness doesn't know where to shop

r15- that is an Ed Kleban lyric. The song is called "Better" and the title song to my debut album!

Rich people! Ha! From the second they're born to the moment they die, they think they are happy. but they're not.

Nope, but it makes you comfortable.

It only makes me happy when I give it to my favorite animal protection charities.

Money can't buy happiness, it can buy you a Porsche which you can park next to happiness

"Does money make you happy?"

Hell to the Yes it does!

Moe, you sold your car? Now you'll have a lot of money and all your problems will be solved, for a few weeks

Money doesn’t buy happiness but the freedom and choices that come along with having money makes life easier.

Things money can buy:

1. Shelter.

2. Food.

3. Health insurance.

4. Transportation (car, bus pass, etc.).

5. Choices, job-wise. You can quit a job that is making you so unhappy you feel sick, etc.

6. Choices, relationship-wise. You don't have to stay in a bad relationship. You can leave & get your own apartment, your own car, etc.

You will find as you go through life, luck is nothing more than having the financial resources to overcome your bad decisions.

Money make me happier when Donald die.

They have a number

Things money can't buy:

1. Happiness

2. Love

God yes!

If you're rich and unhappy, you haven't learned how to spend your money the right way.

If I had too much money and no obligations, I’d be doing a shit ton of drugs and would probably be dead by now. Luckily, I only have the time and funds to buy weed.

Lack of money causes a tremendous amount of unhappiness, though. I’m earning enough at the moment but I worry constantly about retirement and old age. I guess that’s exactly what capitalism wants me to fear.

Not ultrarich, but money bought me extra years of free time to de-stress from a terrible corporate job; get long-needed therapy to address decades-old issues, get my health back, lose 60 pounds, read stuff I want to read instead of stuff I had to read, travel, and figure out where I wanted to spend my last 10-35 years (turns out, on an island by the sea). So in my case, money bought me the freedom to focus on things that will make me happy. And I am.

^^^ I also remember sitting in a long, boring meeting (my 10th of the week: it was Wednesday) and thinking to myself, “I’ll never have to sit through another meeting like this, ever.” It was so liberating.

Yes, money makes me very happy. Let's not be silly.

Money doesn't make you unhappy, but having it removes so damn many things that make people unhappy that I'd like some myself.

r40 well put

Money alone no. But money buys security in the form of having a roof over your head, food to eat and a formal education. Having a purpose in life is what makes you happy.

OP You're approaching fifty and you ask such puerile questions?

Yes.

The security it gives me when the shit hits the fan is what makes me happy.

"But money buys security in the form of having a roof over your head, food to eat and a formal education. "

Money removes causes of unhappiness, but it doesn't eliminate unhappiness.

It's all there in Malsow's Heirarchy of Needs, people who don't have to worry about having the necessities like housing and food don't stop worrying, they just worry about things like being unloved. It's why rich kids are so generally unhappy.

Money is freedom from many worries and opportunities with diminished risk.

Not having to give much thought to buying the much more expensive of two things. Paying bills in full without a thought of whether the price is higher or lower this month and if there money enough to cover the payments. Buying a house with cash because it's simpler and faster. Knowing that losing a job doesn't mean any serious change in lifestyle. Knowing that you can retire when you want. Not having to watch YouTube videos when something needs to be fixed. Traveling on the day you want to travel even if much more expensive. Not having to juggle money and timing to pay for things. Buying a dozen of your favorite white shirt because they're perfect and the brand may change the cut or fabric. Not having to think about helping a friend or treating people to a dinner or giving money to a charity. Knowing that you will be okay financially if unexpected things arise. Being completely debt free. Investing in something your believe in but that you can walk away from if it goes bust. Knowing that you can quit your job as a lawyer and open a beautiful studio where you restore antique harpsichords. Taking vacations by the month instead of by the week or weekend. Not having to worry about the care of your aged parents.

It's not happiness itself, but it's happiness adjacent.

[quote]I used to fantasize about wealth but now, approaching fifty, I really just want to have enough to be safe and have a roof over my head.

The problem is that it takes wealth to make you safe, to live in a safe neighborhood and be able to get medical and dental care when you need it, to be able to afford huge repairs on things like cars and furnaces so you're safe when operating them, to eat healthy food and have the leisure time needed to keep your physical and mental health up.

We make pretty good money and we're still unable to afford a safe car or all the dental and medical procedures we need.

I saw a special (might have been "60 Minutes") about Guccio Gucci, the founder of the leather goods company, and one of his female relatives said something that I've never forgotten...

"It's better to cry in a Rolls Royce than be happy on a bicycle."

Yes, amongst many other things in the world, but I don't live my life to pursue happiness or to be happy.

"It's better to cry in a Rolls Royce than be happy on a bicycle."

Honestly, my happiest times are when I am on my bicycle. My best vacations are long distant road biking. I will any day prefer to be happy on a bicycle than cry in a Rolls Royce. Btw, I am not rich, but middle-class.

Money doesn't buy happiness but you can afford to rent it.

Money makes me secure. My partner and my pets make me happy.

if i had money to the point of not ever having to worry about selling my labor in the marketplace to a psychopathic power tripping boss, or an evil corporation, nor anyone else, then yes it would make me very happy. and eventually, nearly all bosses reveal themselves to be psycho. i think it's just part of the role they have to play.

enough money to travel and see the amazing things that other humans have made during their all-too-brief time on this earth would be the cherry, but since COVID that would be much more difficult.

oh, and never having to cook a day in my life. because although i don't mind feeding myself, it's better when others do it for me. i would be the kind to have a running tab at a local small bistro, and a regular table.

my theory is that anyone who says money doesn't make life easier, and can't make them happy (existentially happy? nothing is going to do that anyway, honey), never had to exist for years at a time with nearly none and the constant worry it produces, and how that worry and stress eats your life away. for some of us, the relief from that worry IS happiness.

My sister won a large sum of money in a sweepstakes a few years ago. Not enough to become rich, but enough to not have to worry for years. She became so much happier. She seemed less stressed and she took a vacation to a place that she always wanted to go to.

I think having a certain amount of money to feel comfortable and secure gives a big sense of relief and eliminates a lot of stress. After that it is about one’s mindset if they can appreciate what they have instead of always wanting more, quality relationships with loved ones and a sense of purpose in life. No amount of money will buy those things.

[quote]I think having a certain amount of money to feel comfortable and secure gives a big sense of relief and eliminates a lot of stress.

Knowing that I can afford a good lawyer if I need one is peace of mind even though I'm at very low risk of arrest. It's an odd thing to worry about, but it may be because I had a court appointed attorney in college for a misdemeanor and saw how useless he was.

I think money makes you happy up to the point that all your real needs are satisfied, so you no longer have serious money concerns. There is diminishing marginal utility to having more than you need and it certainly won't buy happiness.

R48 "We make pretty good money and we're still unable to afford a safe car or all the dental and medical procedures we need"

Something doesn't sound right here - you say you make pretty good money OR is it that you don't want to live within your means car-wise. A pretty safe car? You can get a nice safe late model used car for under 15-20K. Medical Procedures - if you have decent insurance they should cover most of it, if it is a procedure that you NEED. If you want a facelift by a top doc in Manhattan, then youre right - insurance doesn't cover that. If you have crappy medical insurance - the ACA does have some good plans you can look into. Premiums may run 5-600 a month. If you make pretty good money that should be feasible. If your employer offers you crappy insurance than that sucks - I guess there isn't much you can do about that. Whatever you do - if you can revisit your medical insurance needs, don't get a plan where premiums are LOW, but then you have a high deductible. Thats how people get in trouble with not being able to afford going to a doc. It's definitely excusable if you are low income - but if you make pretty good money that shouldn't be the case.

And yes, dental work can be very costly so I agree with you there.

Sister Mary: Money can’t buy happiness. Gabrielle: Sure it can! That’s just a lie we tell poor people to keep them from rioting.

Anyway who claims money doesn't buy happiness has no idea what it is like to be poor and constantly stressing about how you are going to make ends meet.

That said, as long as you have enough money to be financially secure, that's what really matters in terms of happiness.

Once I started making over 100k things got weird and more stressful. I topped out at making 300k, by no means a fortune, but my life kinda sucked. I was working all the time and compulsively spending money. I've since pulled back, went in a different direction career-wise and am much happier; as someone mentioned - having health insurance, money to pay the bills, and enough left over to put some away in savings seems to be the sweet spot.

The people I know who are self-made and rich never stop working. It's all they do. All the time. The few people I know with inherited wealth kind of suck--joyless, paranoid, just weird overall.

It would. But only because I could have as many drugs and food I want.

They suck because they haven't been taught true noblesse oblige, R61. There's usually a deep stinginess at heart there when they run out of shiny things to buy for themselves, a bitterness that comes when they find they can't spend their way to happiness, a suspicion of anyone new that they're after their money, and because they didn't work for the money, they are afraid of it running out or don't want to give away the power that they think goes with giving it away. And an attitude that anyone who doesn't have money doesn't know the value of it, or doesn't plan, or chose a foolish career.

I do fine, but having an inherited wealth friend ask "why do you have to work all the time? wish we could find a time to get together!" really stinks. Or the tone deafness of going to a decent but affordable restaurant (say a max of $100pp, all in) instead of Le Bernardin or its ilk.

"Can't you get away on the weekend? Are you getting a share this summer?" Actually, no. My second job is on weekends and it doesn't really build up sick leave and I don't want to lose it just to go someplace and spend money with you. I own my decisions but also think it would be nice to be met halfway and somehow maintain the friendship even if I can't afford--or choose not to go into debt to afford--the appearance of the lifestyle.

I have a few million saved up and it’s only about financial security. I don’t buy fancy cars or anything. In fact, I want to retire but worry about it lasting. Plan is to donate increasing amounts to charity and leave it to the local animal shelter when I’m gone.

Life sucks when you don't have money.

Life *can* suck even with money.

What's mind-blowing are those lottery winners who win ~ $43 million and then end up broke.

There was an episode of "Intervention." The addict (woman) was rich (can't remember how she became rich). The intervention was unsuccessful because, due to her money, there was no "hitting bottom" for her. She didn't need people to lend her money for drugs, didn't need a place to stay, etc.

When I was young I thought money was everything. Now that I'm old I know it is.

[quote]Does money make you happy?

Absolutely fucking Yes !!

Happy? Not sure, there's always shit to deal with. But if I was guaranteed 70K annually for life, I would nope out of the rat race. And if not happy, at least not miserable at a job. Not asking for a fortune, just enough to fund a decent middle class life.

Food, shelter and clothing and health care should all be free. No one asks to be born into this world and so a the very LEAST society should have those things available to everyone.

The rest depends on choices. In two months I will be 100% debt free. That doesn't mean I have money, I don't really. I just decided that debt=slavery and will never have it again. So I think no debt = happiness. Not money.

I wish I had understood my earning potential earlier in life and understood what it meant. One job change basically doubled my income. I was making $110k a year in 1998 and working in London and Paris a few months out of the year.

The money I have made has made me content, in general. I still have a horrid family which causes me great depression and anxiety. I think I would be truly happy if they were all dead.

R72 here. I prematurely posted. I've been dirt poor, living on 99 cent Gino's pizzas in an efficiency in Illinois to get through grad school, God, that was a fucking mistake, to having more money than I could ever imagine. I sleep better at night. It is important to me that I can and will always help my family and friends when they are in economic hardship, this is what gives me the greatest happiness when it comes to money.

My grandmother had to beg for food from rectories in Brooklyn in the 30s when things got really bad.

R59, we have a 21-year-old car because we can't afford to lease or buy a new one.

We do make decent money but that doesn't mean we can afford a car. I feel like I was being pretty clear about that in my first post.

If you want to turn that into another one of the bitchy Datalounge "you're just not living within your means" cuntfests, go right ahead.

The only three things I liked about being rich:

1. Space to house family and other guests

2. Space to throw a party

3. Opportunity to give money back, set up scholarships, etc.

Hard to say. Working for 25 years in a miserable job to make money was horrible - if I had died during that, life would have been a waste. Now having some money saved and being able to have some financial freedom is bliss. I am still not sure of it was worth sacrifice 25-50 to a miserable life and job. But I am happy I have decent savings now and the ability to make choices.

r57 alluded to "peace of mind". What price peace of mind?

I'm by no means close to rich, but to me, that hits the rusty nail on the head. Homeowners, for instance, know precisely what I'm talking about. To have money means that necessary repairs, if you can't do them yourself can be addressed by having the money to hire someone to do the repairs.

How mundane and tedious, but, is it? Again, what price peace of mind? To me, money doesn't buy "happiness", but peace of mind.

I only wish that every human being; the poor, wealthy and in between, for fleeting moments of great stress and despair, truly experiences that corny old phrase, "the best things in life are free"-

a canvas of slate grey winter sky behind tall forest trees whose every limb, branch and trunk is totally traced in snow.

tree leaves and warm, slow summer winds talking to each other.

a loud, neon hued sunset.

for fleeting moments WITHIN great stress and despair,...

I'd rather be rich sad than poor sad, that's for sure.

R12 nailed it.

If you have strong supports from your family and/or friends plus community, you don't really need that much money.

I've noticed that many people who end up with a huge amount of money seem to just stop listening to people (me and others). They are so used to having everyone fawning on them, laughing at their jokes, wanting their opinions - that they lose the ability to listen to others. They just talk and expect you to listen. I've always told myself that if I ever do wind up rich (unlikely at this point), I would need to remain down to earth.

Poverty is like chronic pain. It throws itself in the way of happiness. It doesn't make happiness impossible, but it is a major obstacle that interferes with it constantly.

However, lack of chronic pain, or lack of poverty, doesn't automatically make you happy.

If you are a pessimist, bitter, friendless, or suffering from the aftereffects of trauma, money won't help that at all.

It might even make it worse by 1) depriving you of easy hope -- daydreams like, "If only I had more money everything would be ok" and 2) surrounding you with leeches to the point where you don't know who your real friends are, or whether you have any real friends at all.

I'd rather be unhappy having money than be unhappy not having money.

I'll say one thing for money. If you believe that hell is other people, money can buy you a lot more space, physically and socially, from your fellow humans.

I don't have enough money at this point, but if I were ever rich, my greatest joy would be to hire one or two handpicked, quiet, low-key people to handle all of life's cunts and cuntiness for me. Landlords, banks, standing on line to get things, dealing with some raging cunt in some bureaucracy: I'd just have "my people" do it.

Are there so many Frauen and Frauen-adjacent nadless gays here that we have another OP who humble-brags about tossing a pittance at animals and wondering if money makes you happy.

Low to the bowl, honey. You're too lazy for the DL.

My accountant says I'm "comfortable", I'm not rich but have enough money to generate an income stream which pays all my bills and then some. Having enough money and not worrying about whether I can pay my bills makes me happy. I think If I were rich I would be like other rich people who worry about losing their money.

R88, if you have enough money to generate an income stream that pays your bills plus more, without having to work, you're rich. Congrats.

Are there any books out there that explore what it's like to be rich that anyone can recommend?

R91, try Googling "riches to rags stories" or "rags to riches stories." You might get stories about people who can compare and contrast.

R74 here. I didn't know how bad my father's family had it until I started staying with him in the last 6 months of his life. No one ever said a word about it all. What makes me happy now when it comes to money is to use my intelligence and drive to make a lot of money so I am the primary donor to a food pantry near me, at a church my grandmother probably once begged for food to feed her children, Few know how much I give. I want to keep it that way. The Jews know that the greatest form of giving is giving in anonymity. Amen.

Having a lot of money allows you to isolate - from people and things you don’t like. Which isn’t necessarily a good thing. What enriches life, makes you grow and challenges you is dealing with people and situations you may not choose. It’s the one thing that can be said for the constant struggle - forces you to stay in the flow and be part of humanity. As much as few would consciously choose it, it does provide happiness from what I’ve seen.

Excess money is most often a challenge to happiness. If one can't find happiness when poor, adding gobs of money to their life will destroy them. Wealth is a business in and of it's own. Money mostly brings loneliness and paranoia. The art of being happy is unrelated to being wealthy. One can be wealthy and happy, happy, but it takes a super-together individual to achieve such a combination. Suicide is far more prevalent among the rich than among the poor. Poor people know who loves them, rich people seldom do.

[quote]Excess money is most often a challenge to happiness. If one can't find happiness when poor, adding gobs of money to their life will destroy them. Wealth is a business in and of it's own. Money mostly brings loneliness and paranoia. The art of being happy is unrelated to being wealthy. One can be wealthy and happy, happy, but it takes a super-together individual to achieve such a combination. Suicide is far more prevalent among the rich than among the poor. Poor people know who loves them, rich people seldom do.

That's a fucking load of old shit, R95. What are you, one of the fucking Koch brothers, telling people to be happy with less, to expect less so that the two surviving Koch boys can have more?

No one said that all one needs to be happy is money, nor that money alone makes people happy.

You would have us believe that "excess money is most often a challenge to happiness." Tell us how many poor and indebted people's lives could be improved or immediate needs satisfied by money, then compare that to the number of people who are sad because they are too rich.

Ask the person who lost his job and his health insurance and now cannot pay for one family members expensive health needs if it's an excess of money that challenges his happiness—after all, he's still lives with a roof over his head and a mortgage over that and has two cars and a small lawn; by the standards of some places he's rich.

Those "less suicide prone" poor people who know by whom they are loved? Ask them if they can send their exceptionally bright kid to schools and universities and provide him the intellectual challenges that all of his teachers say he deserves, needs even. Ask them if they the wealth to fix their kids' jacked up teeth or buy them a laptop or to expect that their career might take them farther than an unemployment center wouldn't spoil everything, and rob them of the love and happiness that they enjoy being poor.

You want to perpetuate a myth of the happy peasant, the happy field slave singing his jolly songs, the nobility and jollity of poor people left to take the crumbs that fall to the floor—and remember to be grateful and happy for them!

Research seems to indicate yes, up to a point (happiness plateaus at about $75,000).

[bold]Plateau[/bold] is the important word; the study doesn't suggest that happiness diminishes above that amount.

The $75,000 in annual income cited in the 2010 study is equal to $88,186 today. Another article cited in OP's link states that $160,000 in annual income as the magic number.

A better link to a brief article on the 2010 Princeton study...

The big wild card is retirement funds. I think $85,000 is enough to make you happy - if you have a pension. Which no one does anymore. So the reality is we need to save Hundreds of thousands for regiment - so we can never be happy or secure or content. Capitalism sucks.

Retirement of 85K annually? Based on investments alone that would mean a principle of about $2.15M if you're withdrawing at 4%. How many of us are going to save over $2M? It really puts into perspective how valuable pensions are and I regret not pursuing a career in fields that still offer pensions. Sometimes I hear laments about "small pensions" of 50K a year. Do you know realize how much you have to have in order to safely pull 50K every year? $1.25M. Again, how many of us are going to have that when we're nearing 65?

Yeah - the elimination of pensions in the 80s is one of the most critical blows to middle class security. The scam of 401ks was just an idiotic cover to allow companies to scrap pensions with no pushback - while als handing a huge gift to Wall Street. We can never have the same financial security as the middle class had in the 50s-70s. Even automakers, steelworkers and lower middle class people had regiment security. Now we go to our grave worrying about money.

Also, most assisted living facilities won’t even look at you unless you have $500,000 cash in the bank (and yes, they check your bank accounts. You have to provide that information when you apply to put down a deposit for the waiting list).

I don’t know how anyone can look at wealthy people and think money = happy. Rich people are miserable and go to extremes.

Just because the US let the rich control everything doesn’t mean money = happiness. That’s what they want you to think.

"Retirement of 85K annually? Based on investments alone that would mean a principle of about $2.15M if you're withdrawing at 4%. How many of us are going to save over $2M? It really puts into perspective how valuable pensions are and I regret not pursuing a career in fields that still offer pensions. "

I thank jeebus everyday that my husband is a clinical social worker in the dept of education. his union will give him one of the last great pensions that you can still get. he'll retire with 50% of his salary, which will net him 70k a year (he works overtime to up his salary). He has a pension of 15k from another job coming to him as well, in addition to a subsidized investment account with a 7% guaranteed return. Right now he was 400k in it and we are gunning to double that by his retirement (i give him money every month to so we can max it out). We also get healthcare/dental for life.

I'm not gloating. This is all to say unions need to be rebuilt in this country. And trench-level employees need to have seats on the boards of companies like they do in Europe. Most people in this country are getting FUCKED just so a handful of greedy sociopaths can be ridiculously, untenably wealthy. This formula isn't even good business. A robust middle class would help all businesses immeasurably. The more people participating in the economy means more demand for goods, products and services.

I'm not optimistic though. We are so divided and polarized now...shit is so so bleak.

Having retirement income is probably the most important thing. I know at 44 that’s becoming more of a priority on what to focus on. I joined several investing and personal finance groups because I need to start building my nest egg. I’m very behind. I’m 44 with no retirement savings. I have my 12 month cushion for when shit hits the fan, but not much saved after that - So I need to start aggressively saving.

I’ve seen just how fast retirement income can go - my dad died a year and a half ago and my mom who does have some retirement savings has spent quite a bit in the months following his death. She still has a decent nest egg, but she is very mindful of her spending.

I don't need "happiness" but I could use a night of sleeping soundly because I'm not worried about money. If I had enough that I didn't have to worry about making more, I'd quit my (mostly soulless) job to do something I'd find fun, like running a record or book store.

Money can't buy happiness.

R104 - you’re very lucky. My sister is a teacher. I wanted to be one but it didn’t pay enough. Now we are in our 50s- - and she is looking at retiring by 61 with $82k/year pension FOREVER and great health care.

R105. Don’t let DL fool you. MOST people have next to nothing saved for retirement. Even at 60, it’s like $100,000 on average. I’ve saved aggressively for years for a well paying job and have a few hundred thousand - nowhere near what I supposedly need. But as I see people die around me - many never made it to 65 even - I’ve decided I’m going to enjoy life and not obsess over having enough to last until 85. It’s a trap that will keep you stressed and anxious for the rest of your life. Worrying about bad things happening in the future is a guarantee of misery - and that what the 401k scam is all about. Dow hat you can - but live life today because you may never make it to 75.

I recently found out UCLA employees with 30 years of service retire on 100% salary pensions. Fuck me, how wrong my life has turned out. I am an alum and I wish I had taken a lowly entry level job upon graduation. Thirty years--that would have meant a sweet pensioned retirement in my early/mid 50's. And yes, it's realistic because the person who told me about the pension did/is doing exactly this. We graduated the same year, he's worked at UCLA since graduation and is eligible for 100% pension at age 52. Oh, plus healthcare.

Meanwhile I went into nonprofit and then switched to megacorp. My retirement will all be 401K/403B with some paltry matching from employers. I work for one of the biggest companies in the world and lastyear they matched my 401K at about $6,500. Fucking peanuts. And we're so used to this paltry shit that some people have told me my company is much more generous than theirs!

Whoever said money doesn’t buy happiness didn’t know where to shop.

R110, meet R20, your quicker cousin.

[quote] Yeah - the elimination of pensions in the 80s is one of the most critical blows to middle class security. The scam of 401ks was just an idiotic cover to allow companies to scrap pensions with no pushback - while als handing a huge gift to Wall Street. We can never have the same financial security as the middle class had in the 50s-70s. Even automakers, steelworkers and lower middle class people had regiment security. Now we go to our grave worrying about money.

Yep. And to this day approximately half the country thinks Republicans have their backs even though they're actually being stabbed in the back! So depressing.

studies have been done on this. Yes, money makes you happy. I think the yearly income was around 75-150K depending on location and living expenses. People who can afford a nice house, reliable car, health insurance, extended vacation to both relax and visit family, save for retirement, have kids if they want to and cover those expenses, and save money on top of that are much happier than those who have the stress of not being able to do those things.

what you can't do is look at a kid who grew up in a family with unlimited wealth (private jet level wealth) with parents with no financial responsibilities that allowed them to hire 24/7 child care staff and make inferences about money and happiness. They're not connected to money at that point. (24/7 child care staff requires 5 full time staffers, assuming 8hr shifts with some doubled up --with a cook and 2 or more full time maids you're talking about $1 million in household staff costs per year alone.)