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Do you agree with "The more we earn, the more likely we are to complain about lack of time because we equate our high earnings with a sense of entitlement to more leisure and feel resentful that time cannot be stretched."
I am not going to contribute a thread on the Bus/Fin/Invest forum about philosophy/ life principles, but I will say that lack of money can lead to lack of choices.
Empirically, having more choices should give both the potential for more happiness as well as more sorrow.
Further, the majority of situations that lead to a person having more money also come with more responsibilities -- it is up to the individual whether those responsibilities create more opportunity / occasion for happiness or merely a burden. It is entirely possible to have a "happy go lucky" attitude and be rich or poor...
More of a Great Debates topic really, but yes it does up to a point.
I think up to the point where you aren't making your basic needs, plus debt payments, plus incidentals (insurance, medical bills), plus savings (retirement, emergency) is extremely stressful. The next point of happiness is the point where you get more choices based on money...where you can wipe away your debt, you can take your family to a vacation every once and awhile, and you get freedom.
Once you hit that threshold (which is more subjective) increases in money is not a real net increase in happiness in itself, for some it can be a real net loss when they don't know how to deal with it and become over extended.
Subsound thinks along the same lines as I do. I've been really, really poor as well as financially comfortable in life. If a person is under constant stress to provide the basics in life...a roof, food, medical expenses and transportation, then I think he/she has a definite opportunity to increase their level of happiness through financial gain. But once a person has the basics in life covered, I don't believe that money is the primary factor in influencing happiness. I believe it has more to do with relationships....to God, to self, to family to friends. Folks who acquire money or some form of "power" usually learn the friends they find who are attracted to their money/power/influence are pretty shallow and disappear as soon as any benefit to them is not realized. For me, it was very telling when the German billionaire threw himself in front of a train when he lost a PORTION of his fortune in the global market recession recently. There were a few high profile suicides with folks who were still rich, but not as rich as they once were. No, it's clear that money doesn't buy happiness but rather it is a tool. When the tool is used correctly, it can help to build more fulfilling lives for those who master its use.
I am not a wealthy man but I used to work for family who had vast wealth. I never saw a family so screwed up. The father cheated on his wife with every woman that came his way. The wife traveled, gambled and got drunk often after finding her husband in bed with another woman. The son I always felt sorry for for. He was a homosexual who was berated by this father for being so. He sunk into a life of drugs until AIDS took his life. The mother caught her daughter in bed with husband. All of them saw a therapist.
This family had it all. A huge house in an affluent neighborhood. Expensive cars and money to buy what ever they wanted. Both their kids were given expensive condos and cars, but never worked a day in their lives. The fellow I worked for made a fortune on Wall Street and owned several small business. The had it all but hated each other. His kids would tell me about some of the things that went under their roof and it always shocked me. The only thing that kept them together was the money. After all I saw I would rather be poor than to live a life like that.
I think chet everett is going in the right direction by bringing up the point of responsibility and one's attitude towards it.
Personally, I do not agree with the statement cited by the OP, and I also believe that "happiness" is a petty objective, there are more worthwhile pursuits on which a human being can focus his scope of responsibility and attitude.
Indeed, while an interesting topic, maybe we should move this to the philosophy forum.
Finally, thanks Stac2007 for an interesting story.
Money may not directly buy happiness, but it can remove roadblocks to happiness and set the stage for someone to be happy. Money doesn't guarantee happiness, but it sure can help. I'm not saying that poor people can't be happy or that you must have money to be happy, just that if you do have money, it can "grease the skids" and help you achieve what might be harder to achieve without money.
I think chet everett is going in the right direction by bringing up the point of responsibility and one's attitude towards it.
Personally, I do not agree with the statement cited by the OP, and I also believe that "happiness" is a petty objective, there are more worthwhile pursuits on which a human being can focus his scope of responsibility and attitude.
Indeed, while an interesting topic, maybe we should move this to the philosophy forum.
Finally, thanks Stac2007 for an interesting story.
You're very welcome. I only worked for them for two years in college but it seemed like a hundred at the time.
Money may not directly buy happiness, but it can remove roadblocks to happiness and set the stage for someone to be happy. Money doesn't guarantee happiness, but it sure can help. I'm not saying that poor people can't be happy or that you must have money to be happy, just that if you do have money, it can "grease the skids" and help you achieve what might be harder to achieve without money.
hi neil.
could you give us an example of this?
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