Do money and material items equal happiness?

JC 2K3

Does having money make one happy?
Does being able to afford and owning expensive material items make one happy?
Does owning an item made by an exclusive and prestigious brand make one more happy than one with a similar yet less expensive item made by a brand perceived to be less exclusive and prestigious?
Is owning material items a large factor in living a fulfilled life?


I personally think material items are not necessary to be happy and reject prestigious brand names, but I'd be interested in hearing other people's thoughts.

Carcharodon

I would have the same point of view but it is very difficult not to care about these things if the people that you surround yourself with care about these things. You have to be very self assured and confident in your own skin to be able not to care about material things.
Do material things make you happy...in the short term i believe they will make one happy but are not a long term solution to making one happy.
I think having money will not make you automaticaly happy but it does take care of alot of problems and there is less to worry about but in turn can generate other problems..

rediguana

"Money can't buy you happiness but it can get you a better class of misery."

rediguana

I think the only time when money can make you happy is when it has previously been the source of your misery. As in, if you're poor and you lack basic necessities, the addition of some cash to your life WILL actually make you happier.

Empirical research backs this up. Happiness is positively correlated with income only up to a modest level (I forget the magic number). So if you're impoverished, money buys you happiness. If you're even a bit affluent, tdon't expect a further injection of money to have you beaming 24-7.

rediguana

Get your hands on the Christmas edition of 'The Economist'. It has a special on happiness, obviously with a monetary slant

silverharp

relative material wealth is important also, if you want to be happier , make sure your friends are less well off then you.

JC 2K3

Carcharodon wrote:

I would have the same point of view but it is very difficult not to care about these things if the people that you surround yourself with care about these things. You have to be very self assured and confident in your own skin to be able not to care about material things.

I kinda agree, but then again I also don't. I don't perceive myself to be very confident and despite having my own personal convictions I'm not all that self assured, but I simply can't see having material items as having a big impact on my life....

rediguana wrote:

I think the only time when money can make you happy is when it has previously been the source of your misery. As in, if you're poor and you lack basic necessities, the addition of some cash to your life WILL actually make you happier.

Well of course, but I'm talking more about excess money and owning luxury items here.

silverharp wrote:

relative material wealth is important also, if you want to be happier , make sure your friends are less well off then you.

That's just a mindset though, a perception....

silverharp

JC 2K3 wrote:

That's just a mindset though, a perception....

thats the point, beyond the basics, wealth tends to be measured on a relative basis not an absolute basis. I believe ther have been surveys to the effect that people would prefer a 10% cut in living standards if everyone else had a 20% cut, then the opposite.

Lord Suave

I think ogden Nash covered the point nicely with
“Certainly there are things in life that money can't buy, but it's very funny - Did you ever try buying then without money?”

Dave!

Can't think of the quote, but it's something like "Money doesn't buy happiness, but it buys the freedom for you to be happy".

Meh, somethin like that.

If you have no money and travelling makes you happy, then you can't have that happiness.

If you have loadsa money and sleeping on the street makes you happy, then you can have that happiness.

philologos

Money is nothing without family and friends. People to me are more important than money or material items will ever be.