If you're so rich, why aren't you happier?

study or not, I believe a great majority of the population are unhappy as a result of financial inadequacy. I think the marginal utility does decline; once you have a nice house and beach house, good car/s and the kids school fees covered, the rest is just bragging rights. Sadly -and necessarily - most people aren't in that position and every dollar does count.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree then ;)
 
Rene Rifkin Quote ... " Money won't buy you happiness, but it will buy you a better form of unhappiness ! "

Yeah and David Lee Roth said - decades ago - that:

"Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it."

What of it.
 
You cannot link money to happiness anymore than you can link cheese to happiness.

Happiness is a state.
Money is an agreement - a thing to be used.

Linking the 2 gives one the false perception that a lack of money then makes you happy - nothing is further from the truth.

Poverty is stressful, it's a difficult external environment and there is no evidence to suggest that poor people are happy - very much the opposite.

People are happiest when they are growing as beings - there is never a ceiling, as long as a person is continuously achieving, they are at their happiest state irrespective of bank accounts!
 
Asset rich and material possessions don't make you feel overly happy for long.

The real happiness comes from being financially free, and filling your life with activities and other things you perceive to be worthwhile, and that you have time to pursue, and choosing to go to work because you like to rather than have to.

While we are supposedly richer, what is really happening is most folks are earning more, but filling up that income with more expensive toys and costs which keep them from retiring debt early.

For eg; say you are a $500k per year earner.

You will never see that person living in a suburb where the average price of a house is $400k, and the only school is a local public school, and he/she is driving around in a 10 year old Falcon, and goes camping at Echuca every school hols, etc.

I don't know a single $500k earner (I know a few) who lives like this.
 
Asset rich and material possessions don't make you feel overly happy for long.

The real happiness comes from being financially free, and filling your life with activities and other things you perceive to be worthwhile, and that you have time to pursue, and choosing to go to work because you like to rather than have to.
.

That's when one starts to see the hidden elements in the face too face texture of modern reality when one is totally free of all constrains,free of all efforts,and reality starts staring at you in the mirror and thoughts one never thought existed emerge in front of your eyes..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhLztdvgpFY
 
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For eg; say you are a $500k per year earner.

You will never see that person living in a suburb where the average price of a house is $400k, and the only school is a local public school, and he/she is driving around in a 10 year old Falcon, and goes camping at Echuca every school hols, etc.

I don't know a single $500k earner (I know a few) who lives like this.

Everyone has different drivers. I knew of one well remunerated chap earning well into the $ X00,000 back in the early 1980's. Lived in the outer suburbs of sydney in a basic rented house, sent the kids to the local public schools, didn't drink/smoke but gave his money to his church.

In his case money and the ability to do good with it was his driver and he lives modestly.
 
If you're so rich, why arent you happier

Following on from the previous post and my personal experience.

From the link of Ted talks -Absolutely agree with this - Happiness just is. It is a state of mind. It is not a matter of if and when.

From the boiler room link - There are times during purchase negotiations when I get the thought in my head "why do I feel like I am getting played here". This can come from the body language does not match what the person is saying. This is an alert for me to dig deeper.
 
...... even if you have enough money today, its not enough because you need to do the same/help your children, set them up? This can create pressure but also stress, its a dual edged sword. Does anyone think the same way, or is it just me???

We are the sandwich generation, not only are we feeling responsible for ensuring our children have a foot in the door of their future, we also have the added pressure of making sure our parents are well cared for and end up paying for nursing homes too! It never ends, we do not have to do it but we are certainly feeling obligated.[/QUOTE]

Mitch, I agree. I don't know whether you are a man or a woman. But women usually feel the 'sandwich' part because we are making sure our elderly parents are okay while still looking after a family at home.

I don't give my children a lot of money, but I definitely will be helping them buy their first properties. I will do for them what my parents did for me.
 
Everyone has different drivers. I knew of one well remunerated chap earning well into the $ X00,000 back in the early 1980's. Lived in the outer suburbs of sydney in a basic rented house, sent the kids to the local public schools, didn't drink/smoke but gave his money to his church.

In his case money and the ability to do good with it was his driver and he lives modestly.
In my experience, rich folks are mostly like this in terms of their generosity with their money - unlike what many poor people perceive them to be.

Poor people have a perception that rich folks are greedy and/or crooked; that is not my experience.

There are just as many poor folks who are that way.

But also; it is not my experience that rich folks live a modest and frugal life of less...I would suggest that the person you refer to is in the minority of richer folks.

Most rich folks that I know and have crossed paths with manage to combine the two.
 
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