Does money buy happiness and a longer life? You decide...

by Brock Talon 46 Replies latest social current

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  Brock Talon

  Does money buy happiness and a longer life?

  I poured over Time Magazine's Sep 8-15 2014 edition article "Who we are" and put together this spreadsheet on the results from their poll. I found the statistics quite fascinating.

  Most people would say that "Money doesn't buy happiness", but this poll seems to me to indicate the exact opposite of that. It also correlates education levels with higher earning that result in that happiness. Further, it shows that people who delay gratification (like refraining from having early sex) will be more happy. Those with better incomes also avoid criminal prosecution more often as well.

  Not in this spreadsheet was an interesting tidbit in the article that stated the higher your education level, THE SHORTER YOUR AVERAGE WORK WEEK WAS! So, the better educated people make more while doing less.

  But the real kicker? The more you make, the longer you live!

  The funny thing about this is, Jehovah's Witnesses say only that "Happy are the conscious of their spiritual needs", but it seems to me that if you focus on education and earning a good living, you not only will live longer, you'll be happier while doing so. Most JWs I know are just getting by while waiting for the New System of Things... but is this really the way to happiness?

  What do you guys think of this?

  Brock Talon

  
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  OneEyedJoe

  That's a much more detailed spreadsheet than I've seen from similar studies. I usually see the results of the studies like this summarized "Money buys happiness up to about 75K, where it levels off" which seems to be pretty close to what this shows. Maybe it doesn't level off entirely, but the coorelation drops off significantly once you've made it to the 60-100k group.

  JWs would probably say that they're all just lying to themselves because they don't know true happiness (similar to their constant reference to true christians, i guess). Meanwhile, most JWs can't even attain the same, apparently fake, happiness that I see everywhere in the world.
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  sloppyjoe2

  Yes money buys happiness. That's my 2 cents...and since it's worth 2 cents and I just gave it to you, you are now happier.
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  redvip2000

  Not in all cases, but for the most part one can say it does buy happiness.

  Think for a minute. What brings us happiness? Being in good health, being close to our family and friends, etc. Does money help here? Yes clearly.

  For example, if you have money you have better changes of being healthy; you can afford the best doctors and the best treatments, you can afford to buy the best food which is fresh and organic. You have plenty of free time to exercise.

  A lot of marriages break up because of money problems and the stress of trying to make ends meet. If you have miliions, all of your bills are paid, you can relax with your family in beautiful settings. You don't have to stress about cleaning you house. Hard to juggle 3 kids? Just hire someone to help you.

  Want to be miserable in rush hour traffic going to a 9 - 5 job? Or want to sip on a cocktail in tahiti with your loved ones?

  Now that i think about it, i'm gonna go out buy me a lottery ticket.
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  OneEyedJoe

  The one failing that is usually present in these studies is proof of causation. Yes, there's a pretty undeniable coorelation between wealth and happiness, but as has been shown a number of times, if an unhappy poor person wins the lottery, they don't immediately become happy.

  It's entirely possible that happiness and wealth just so happen to both be the effect of being successful in persuing one's dreams (which would explain, to a certain extent, the correlation with education). When people go after what they really want in life, they're more likely to be happy. They're also more likely to be passionate about what they do for a living, and that often yeilds better results, therefore more money.

  while it's entirely anecdotal, I feel like that's what both my happiness and my money come from - i was lucky (especially for those born into the JW cult) to have parents that supported me in doing what I really liked doing. The result is that I'm reasonably well paid, and bad days at work are rare.
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  tootired2care

  
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  new hope and happiness

  I think Happiness is a drug...and money buys happiness.

  Does money buy contentment?
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  talesin

  Money can ease poverty. Poverty causes a LOT of sadness.

  If the absence of funds can create misery, then yes, money can buy happiness - for the person who is ready to CHOOSE happiness and be content with 'enough'.
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  Separation of Powers

  Money doesn't buy happiness but it makes it a lot cheaper
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  new hope and happiness

  Happiness is:- my wife was driving my beloved car, which she then crashed and ruined.

  Who cares i still have a wife...