
Money Can Buy Happiness [pdf] - abtinf
https://reasonpapers.com/pdf/26/rp_26_1.pdf
======
dclowd9901
> The economist Robert Frank, hardly an unqualified enthusiast of money,
> essentially acknowledges as much when he writes: “...becoming more
> productive is a good thing, if only because it gives us more options. It
> enables us to earn more and buy more if we choose to, but it also enables us
> to earn the same amount by working fewer hours, or to spend more on
> environmental cleanup. Other things being equal, the more productive a
> society is, the greater is each citizen’s ability to pursue his vision of
> the good life.”

And, yet, here we are, more productive than we've ever been as a species,
still slogging through 8 hour days 5 days a week, 260 days a year (give or
take, if we're lucky). When do we get to sit back and say, "cool, I think
we're done."

~~~
noblethrasher
> When do we get to sit back and say, "cool, I think we're done."

When collective productivity is turned into collective leverage.

~~~
dclowd9901
It's a nice platitude, but what does it mean in practice?

------
DtnB
This post makes the assumption that happiness should be a permanent state
rather than a transient state like any other emotion.

Shouldn't we seek to just 'be', and react accordingly to what the moment
impresses upon us? If we seek to be happy at all times, wouldn't that be as
much of a sickness as being sad all the time? Wouldn't happiness become
something common place and fall into the background like so much white noise?

------
abtinf
The author of this paper, Tara Smith, did an interview on the subject of
"Achieving Happiness". It has a lot of additional concrete advice for making
decisions in life.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eok34BJwIm4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eok34BJwIm4)

------
ahallock
Money might not buy happiness, but it's a huge stress reducer. Not having to
worry about bills or checking finances before making purchases feels amazing.

------
vanzorn
A few years ago I came across a comic[0] that stated "Serotonin and Dopamine
are technically the only two things that you enjoy," which had an surprising
impact on the way I look at happiness. I'm still processing the idea that on a
fundamental level, joy is just a chemical response.

Long story short, I'm trying to focus on fulfillment, scaling the Maslow
pyramid[1], and accept that happiness may or may not be a byproduct.

Money seems almost always necessary for the journey, but I have no idea if it
gets you past the first few levels of the hierarchy of needs. Direct
observation shows me that it can help a person acquire the trappings of all
five, but I'm not convinced about the authenticity of self-actualization or
esteem based on materialism.

[0]
[http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/index.php?date=013111](http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/index.php?date=013111)
[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs)

------
paul7986
I view money if ever graced with an abundance of it would allow me to fulfill
creative dreams.. like write a few hits songs by hiring for a ton well known
songwriters to write with or run/own a music publishing company.

We all have dreams yet not all will be fulfilled but it’s a lot and more fun
(happiness) to pursue them either way!

~~~
pdimitar
That's how I view it as well. Everybody is too caught up on being "productive"
these days. Whatever happened to just casually tinkering with a car, a
program, or your plant garden? You might never achieve anything better than
what's out there but it can certainly give you a lot of happiness and peace of
mind while you're doing it.

------
moneygreentxt
There was an HN comment from ages ago that was one of my favorites, but I am
unable to find a link to it.

Basically it was a user listing how life changes at different levels of
wealth.

ie.

1MM : take family on a big vacation each year

5MM : stop worrying about retirement

10MM : stop working for other people

100MM : private jets to wherever you need to go

and on and on, or something to that effect

Please reply if anyone can find a link.

~~~
c0nducktr
This isn't the post you were referencing, but a similar one on reddit
regarding extreme wealth.

[https://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/2s9u0s/what_do_insan...](https://reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/2s9u0s/what_do_insanely_wealthy_people_buy_that_ordinary/cnnmca8/)

~~~
Sohcahtoa82
Did not expect that ending on that post. Oof.

------
Regardsyjc
I think I'm happy and I agree with this paper. I've been struggling with my
relationship with money for months and I wish I had read this sooner.

After covering your basic needs, money gives you the freedom to pursue your
greater needs, and in that sense it can buy happiness. Whether those needs are
good relationships, health, or fulfilling work, money in a sense, can buy or
help you buy that, at least the time to build relationships or work.

However, something I have been struggling with is the hedonic treadmill. I
feel like expectations are consistently being raised. I worry that it will
never end and I also worry about what will happen if it does end. Has anyone
ever felt this way? I think that's the point of enjoying the journey... Does
anyone have tips on how to enjoy the journey?

~~~
pdimitar
This is long. You have been warned.

> _Does anyone have tips on how to enjoy the journey?_

Every time in my life I got subdued by my hedonism during my rich perioids I
was struck by severely awful series of events that ended up humbling me and
making me thankful even if I can only cover bills and food afterwards. EVERY
DAMN TIME.

So I guess the answer is: you need contrast, for all your life. Which means a
lot of pain and stress, periodically, until you learn to universally
appreciate what you have and not eternally moving your own personal goalpost.

The danger of being rich for a long time is that you lose perspective and have
no other extremity to compare with. This leads to many mental problems.

Observing myself and others, I noticed that the longer your basic needs are
not in danger, the more you lean to doing pretty useless crap: mostly tooting
political views of which you know nothing about, or my personal favorite --
looking down on people in ever more and creative ways. I legit heard a former
friend of mine say the famous Marie-Antoinette phrase: "No bread? Let them eat
cake" when we dicussed the gypsy population of my country. Everybody on the
table was baffled even more when we realized that he didn't know about that
historical quote at all. He reinvented it right there and then on the spot.
Really makes you think what is the common trend that makes people lose touch
with reality so severely.

 _What I am trying to say is: when you are rich for a long time, you either
become Lara Croft / Batman, or you become a very plain hedonist_ (like the
rich guys who outbid each other on a rare bottle of wine in Vegas and end up
paying $6000 for a glass of it... WTF?).

Our brains always need to solve problems. So if one lacks ambition to solve
hard problems still existing out there then they end up inventing their own
problems and focus on them, usually until the day of their death. It's no
coincidence that many rich people end up taking a lot of drugs. They have no
struggle in their lives at all and end up feeling empty and directionless.

Giving example of myself: I am currently in an absolutely horrible period of
my life. Lost 3 pretty lucrative jobs / gigs that I managed to juggle for
years... basically in 2-3 weeks space (5 months ago), and still cannot recover
because I refuse bad jobs and don't want to invite stress and burn out back in
my life. _(I say I lost them and that 's not obscuring reality: I only refused
to renew contract on one of them because it was really toxic and stale, and
political decisions took the other 2 jobs under my feet basically days
later)_. Long story short, if I manage to stabilize and get to a middle-high-
class level again as before, I definitely will be buying myself a few years of
break and will just work on trying to invent General Artifical Intelligence. I
don't care if I will succeed. It makes me happy and fulfilled to combine
workout, walks and movies with my wife, and several hobbies (of which
inventing AGI is one).

I know I'll never be a hedonist; I would buy myself a beach house and two good
bikes but would never _ever_ reach for a private jet even if I can afford a
fleet of them. The poor periods of my life have taught me that many kinds of
money come with stress and tons of maintenance attached to them. And that
other kinds of money you just spend so you can impress other rich people. I
don't want any of that crap in my life.

Finally, I work really hard to maintain a balance between being rich and
having to do minimal housekeeping. That I believe is a very good balancing
factor to help you stop and appreciate life as well.

~~~
Regardsyjc
Pdimitar, thank you for sharing. I really appreciate it.

I'm sorry that you are going through a terrible period right now. I feel like
I'm a little in a similar boat in that I am turning down lucrative
opportunities that don't resonate with me... and still trying to navigate that
but I am confident that you'll be able to succeed your way out of this slump!
You've gotten this far, I think you're just having a small road bump.

I totally agree with you. I hope to find balance.

For me when I said hedonic treadmill and raising expectations, I wasn't
talking about material objects. The number one thing I'm afraid of is always
reaching for another personal growth bar. I find success painful. I think I
might have success ptsd haha. I've already lost "friends" multiple times,
every time I grow.

Every time I've grown, I can no longer be happy with where I was or what I
achieved. I thought it was good enough to help build businesses that do
$100k/mo and then 2-3x that but I just met someone who takes $100k/mo
businesses and 5x that. Now the bar has raised and I can't be happy with the
success I have achieved so far. And I hate the treadmill of consistently
achieving because in my experience it brings pain emotionally and socially as
you leave people behind. Unfortunately I know that's the way it is - but I
wish I can get better at managing the highs and lows.

~~~
pdimitar
Oh gods. Seems I made a wrong assumption and just wrote an essay about it.
Please accept my apologies, if possible!

Looking at it from the side -- I think you are quite okay but still compare to
the others. That can be a good motivator but you should stop at some point
because it can get very exhausting for your soul. And it can make you pursue
outcomes that you will eventually find out you never wanted in the first
place.

> _Now the bar has raised and I can 't be happy with the success I have
> achieved so far._

...But why? Are you aiming at having a network of luxury real estate in Europe
and renting that until the end of days? Do you like the idea of a fleet ot
private jets or yachts?

If not, you should not have any PTSD in my eyes. If your basic needs are met
and if you can afford to travel and work on whatever tickles your fancy then
you are already in the top 10% rich people in the world. Why is that not good
enough?

> _I find success painful._

I can sympathize with that. As mentioned in my previous post, some money come
to you attached with a lot of stress and maintenance baggage. Is that the case
with your money? I hope not... But if so and if you have enough of them
accumulated then you can always hire somebody to manage those for you. Less
stress is always worth investing into!

> _And I hate the treadmill of consistently achieving because in my experience
> it brings pain emotionally and socially as you leave people behind.
> Unfortunately I know that 's the way it is - but I wish I can get better at
> managing the highs and lows._

That many people are envious and spiteful and drift away from you if you are a
better achiever than them is a part of life, an inevitable one at that. I am
sorry that you haven't found true friends yet. But they do exist, trust me!
There are a lot of pretty cool people out there. You will find them if you get
out of your zone.

And I am pretty sure you will manage your highs and lows better with time.
Just don't second-guess yourself; life is one huge and constant lesson and you
never really "complete" it. You just decide one day that enough is enough and
you can stop there. Nothing shameful in that, we don't live to only achieve.

Wanna chat? My email is in my profile (although a bit obscured to stop spam
bots). I feel we both can offer the other side an interesting perspective. If
not, apologies for offering it! No disrespect intended.

Don't give in to doubts. Reflect on what you have (and others don't) and don't
only compare to more successful people than you. Life is not a race.

I think you are doing quite well.

------
thrownaway954
Whomever said "Money can't buy you happiness", never owned a Pomeranian :)

------
kartan
For me is hard to see what meaning of "value" is used in the article, for
example this sentence:

> Spending money is a means of acquiring other goods and services that are
> one’s values or that will enhance one’s ability to realize one’s values.

Which one is it?

\- "value" as principles or standards of behaviour; one's judgement of what is
important in life. "they internalize their parents' rules and values"

\- "value" as estimate the monetary worth of. "his estate was valued at
£45,000"

~~~
abtinf
The latter is an expression of the former.

To say an object is worth $10 is not a claim of the object's intrinsic value -
it is to say that it is worth $10 _to someone_. That person assesses the worth
of the object based on their principles and values (whether held explicitly or
implicitly).

Edit: Elsewhere in this thread I've linked to additional resources to expand
on the philosophy behind the article. I think they are worth the small
investment of time to get a view on a radically different approach to life.

------
twitchh
Being poor is incredibly expensive so yes it can definitely buy happiness or
at least make your life less stressful which leads to increased happiness.

Unfortuneatly I kinda know that

------
MrLeap
I've always said money doesn't buy happiness, but being poor will make you sad
for free.

~~~
ModernMech
That's a great saying, but I would hesitate to make it causal with the word
"will". I know I've certainly felt miserable due to finances, but my
grandmother who grew up during the depression and had nothing her entire life
but her family, died at 90 with a smile on her face and no regrets. Meanwhile,
I see a wealthy man like Anthony Bourdain end his life early.

So for me, as someone without money, I can look at these two cases and
consider: do I find happiness now without money, or do I do what it takes to
get money, and hope it makes me happy, but knowing that it's not guaranteed
to.

~~~
felipemnoa
You can still be extremely happy while being poor. It just means that they are
happy in spite of being poor. That does not mean that a poor person will
choose to not become rich if given the chance.

~~~
ModernMech
> That does not mean that a poor person will choose to not become rich if
> given the chance.

This is very true. I can't say I wouldn't, that's for sure! But at the same
time, I've also seen how money can corrupt and change a person. Someone I once
knew and loved became rich, and then became a different person entirely. I'm
sad that person is gone, and I often times wonder if the same would happen to
me, and how I could avoid it if I ever became rich.

------
c0nducktr
The YouTube channel Casually Explained has a video on levels of wealth which
is pretty enjoyable.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JANApS0P4z8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JANApS0P4z8)

------
codesternews
Money can buy stuff that makes you happy.

------
RickS
This starts to get very shaky as soon as it gets to the "Happiness" heading.

> Happiness is the psychological condition that results from the achievement
> of one’s [values](sic).

I'd say that's meaning. Puppy videos give you happiness. They don't give you
meaning.

> Values are ends that a person acts to gain and/or keep. They are those
> things that a person cares about having or doing.

That... what? My values are not my ends or my activities.

These two definitions end with a footnote:

> Both characterizations are from Ayn Rand, “The Objectivist Ethics,” The
> Virtue of Selfishness (New York: Signet, 1964) 31, 16.

Without taking a stance on Rand, is that really the foremost place to find a
definition of happiness and value? This strikes me as intellectually dishonest
to the point of silliness.

~~~
abtinf
If you'd like a quick introduction to Rand's complete philosophical system,
check out Leonard Peikoff's video "Introduction to Objectivism". It will help
clarify a lot of the difficult statements you pointed out.

Starts at around 3:50

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlJD0i_WwdQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlJD0i_WwdQ)

Edit: With regard to your comment about puppy videos, I'm curious what you
thought about this paragraph from the article:

> It is useful to distinguish particular incidents of happiness from a more
> pervasive condition. While happiness results from the achievement of
> specific goals, when a person seeks happiness itself, he is after a more
> global kind of satisfaction with his life—with his daily activities, as he
> is engaged in them, as well as with what they all add up to, when he steps
> back to survey the totality. This more encompassing happiness requires
> knowledge that his time and energy are being spent in worthwhile ways and
> that he is efficacious in acting for the things that he cares about.

~~~
engineeringwoke
Sorry to burst your bubble, but Ayn Rand is philosophically meaningless

~~~
abtinf
I'll accept your apology if you share how you came to that conclusion.

------
mapcars
>Happiness is the psychological condition that results from the achievement of
one’s vales

Wrong.

>Spiritual values encompass such things as knowledge, beauty, a stimulating
book, a challenging chess match, rewarding work, mental health, self-esteem,
character traits (e.g., honesty, optimism, initiative), a friend or a husband.

Wrong.

>Happiness is essentially the satisfaction that arises when a value has been
realized

Wrong.

>Thus we expect a person to be significantly happier when he has completed a
college degree, won a coveted promotion, or married the love of his life.

Terribly wrong expectation.

One might go very far away in his conclusions, but if you start with wrong
assumptions it only means you went further away from reality.

~~~
vertline3
I think your post is really good

But what is happiness then?

~~~
dclowd9901
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic. His post is awful. It's simply barking
"wrong" without explaining anything.

~~~
vertline3
I'm actually genuinely asking? I know from him what it isn't, but what is it
according to him?

