Does $$$ = :-) ? | Your stories | Discussion forum

Nope ,however having money removes financial stress . Take that out of most relationships and happiness can be had .
Problem is most people on this site are savers ,not spenders. Do you have to spend to be happy?
Personally anything myself and my wife need we get and pay cash and I don't have to worry about money. As I tell my wife is that a need or a want ..LOL

Agreed, money means freedom, and lots of personal freedom seems not to be a prerequisite for everyone's happiness, just for some. For example, there are some people happy following their spouse from store to store around the mall, some are happy centering their days around their pets' needs, some are happy going off to a job even after they could retire, some are happy babysitting grandkids almost every day, etc, i.e. point being lack of personal freedom seems to be what many people actually seek out. So if you don't really care about personal freedom that much then maybe the freedom money brings is not as vital to pursue.

I've been retired for 18 years and have more money to spend than ever before in my life, but there's not much I want to buy that I don't already have. The reason I saved and invested over the years was to be financially independent ASAP. I hated working for someone else and being told what to do, so for me having enough money saved up to be able to quit working was my goal. In summary, a large amount of money to me meant freedom from having to work for it.

As for happiness, getting more stuff doesn't make you happier. Hedonic Adaptation kicks in and you rapidly become used to a new lifestyle and it becomes the new normal. Some people are just naturally unhappy regardless of their financial situation. Others are naturally happy in any case. Trying to appreciate what you have, instead of always wanting more, is the answer to true happiness.

savemoresaveoften said
I like the quote money buys you personal freedom, but also only within the law.  

Whomever came up with that quote, didn't have enough money

Dean said

Thanks for the tip, Gicjunkie.

How does my sig look now ⬇ ?

Dean

.
P.S.
Apologies to Mr. Spock   

Very aspirational!

While it's true that money is often needed to provide flexibility and freedom in pursuing happiness-fulfilling objectives, money itself != happiness. As well, one does not need a lot of money to enable the freedom to pursue happiness-fulfilling objectives. One can live by the principles of frugality + anti-consumerism to provide flexibility within their means to pursue happiness-fulfilling objectives.

Cheers,
Doug

Don't have to learn the language or move, it's the sauna, 3X or so a week does it for me!