I was just thinking about this. We all have heard the old adage, "Money doesn't buy happiness." So, why are so many people in our society stressing themselves out, burning out, etc. in the pursuit of the almighty dollar? Why aren't more people downsizing, working less hours, trying to connect with family/friends etc.?

What truly brings happiness? Just wondering if there was any hard research on this. I've heard that married people are more happy than singles. What other data supports what makes for a happy life?

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if your family is already stable: everyone is committed to one another through love and daily reaffirmation, than my answer would be NO STRESS.

What makes me truly happy is NO STRESS. I'm talking about not having stress about money, not having stress about health problems, not stressing about childrens' well being, not stressing about job security, etc.


I also think financial security. I am not saying bundles and bundles of money; I'm just saying enough to make our monthly expenses with a little extra to spare. When there are financial burdens on a family there is stress. When there is stress there is no family unity. It's one big cycle.

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I can only answer for my own situation.

We have just enough money to get by. Our bills are paid, we have groceries, a decent house and are pretty comfortable. But we don't care what other people have and don't try to keep up with them. There fore, just enough money is okay for us.

We have just recently decided the my dh is going to take one night off from his band per month because to us, time is more important than money. We don't really want things, we want to be together with our family. When we can do that we find that our stress is much less.

It's all in the way you look at it I guess.

BTW: This morning hugging a little lost puppy brought a big smile to my face. The best things in life are free.

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What makes me really happy is having 4 healthy kids and having al oving husband to share my life with. And, as of right now, it mkes me truly happy to be here with my family, all in the same area.

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Money may not make you happy, but lack of it sure makes you unhappy!!!

I think being financially comfortable makes me happy, as well as my family, my job, my church (wasn't there a study that showed that people of faith were happier than those with none?). I strive for contentment.

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I don't see happiness as a destination point. I think happiness shows up in life, just like sadness or rough times. But in order to keep it around, one has to be able to cope with the bad times to move back into the good ones. I think Christy_K touched on the same line I'm on. Stability creates a sense of wellbeing. It might take going through some bad times to get to a place where you're stable and can handle a few curveballs, but once you're there, you know it.

I teach sociology at a local university and this topic comes up in my classes quite a bit.

Research reveals the following:

Americans' personal income has increased more than two and a half times over the last fifty years, but their happiness level has remained the same.

Myers, D. G. (2000). The funds, friends and faith of happy people. American Psychologist, 55, 56-67


Americans earning more that $10 million annually are only slightly happier than average Americans.

Deiner, E. Horowitz, J. & Emmons, R. A. (1985). Happiness of the very wealthy. Social Indicators Research, 16, 263-274.

I realize that money doesn't make people happy, but having enough would sure make me less miserable. It's really hard to never have any extra money. That being said, I am a sahm who choses to be home, rather than have more money. We live in a 2 bedroom trailor with 2 kids. My husband is an electrician and we can make it, there's just never much extra. But we are a pretty happy family and I love that I get to be home with my kids. It just sometimes gets hard.

An excerpt from "The Secret of Happiness" (a book that is posted on happiness-is-online.com):

"...life-satisfaction, the permanent condition of happiness, is not a thing, but a psychological condition produced in the final analysis not by favorable circumstances themselves but by our attitudes toward those circumstances and to life in general; by ideas, insight, motivations and feelings that derive only secondarily from our material circumstances."

From this I conclude that a HUGE part of happiness is our attitude/outlook...and while our financial situation ("material circumstances") play a role, they are more in the "background" of what contributes to happiness.

That being said...while $$$$ doesn't buy happiness, I would enjoy the oppotunity to try!

As was said in other posts that the lack of money causes stress. I can relate to that. When you get so far behind and you don't know how in the world to catch up on bills etc. That's when you can say a little more money would cause one to be happy. My son just asked me a little while ago if I was happy. I don't know why but I think kids have a hidden radar to detect when something is wrong without you even having to say a word. My instant reply was yes I was happy just feeling like I was coming down with the flu. I know that happiness is deep within ones soul. We all have setbacks it's how we handle them that makes all the difference. I wouldn't trade places with anyone. I'm happy to be me and believe me there is alot of room for improvement. I think we need to be happy with ourselves and be mature enough to take responsibity for our own actions. If somethings not working for you in your life than change it. I know it's alot easier said than done. More in likely whatever it was didn't get that way over night but gradually and likewise gradually in can change. I think alot of people deep down inside for some reason or another feel like they don't deserve to be happy. Therefore they sabatoge themselves.