Question of the Day | 08/26/2009 11:00 pm

Does money buy happiness? How much does it cost?

Liz Smith, Mary Wells, Joan Ganz Cooney and Marlo Thomas calculate the price of happiness.

Joan Ganz Cooney | 08/26/2009 11:00 pm

Joan Ganz Cooney: Money Can't Buy Happiness

Money cannot buy happiness but it can solve every problem money can solve, which, let us face it, makes it very comforting. How much it costs varies with people, where they live and how they live. But it must be enough to pay for one’s housing, other essentials and some luxuries and to cover any medical and long-term health costs. And it’s great if you have enough to help grown children when they need it.

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Marlo Thomas | 08/26/2009 11:00 pm

Marlo Thomas Spends Like Herb Gardner

I always loved Herb Gardner’s cartoon about that — "Money cannot buy happiness, but it can buy a setting in which happiness is more likely to occur."

6 Comments

Mary Wells | 08/26/2009 11:00 pm

Mary Wells: Money Can Buy a Certain Kind of Happiness

It can buy peace of mind. That is one kind of happiness.

1 Comment

Liz Smith | 08/26/2009 11:00 pm

Liz Smith: Nothing 'Buys' Happiness Except Belief in Yourself

Money buys peace of mind and so I think it’s hard to be "happy" without it because one is worrying all the time about what things cost, can they afford it and how will they pay their bills on time. But nothing "buys" happiness except belief in yourself and others and true accomplishment.

Plus a lot of luck.

9 Comments

Read more about: Culture, Happiness, Lifestyle, Money, Relationships

87 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

No. Absolutely not. Many of us believe that it could, many believe it does but in the end moey does not buy happiness. Happiness is a state of mind and true happiness comes from within not from a dollar bill.

It figures I learned this the hard way. At the end of the day all that really matters is I am happy with me.

Have a wonderful day.

By Laurie Deer on 08/27/2009 8:24 am

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I would think the operative word here is "Bring" instead of "Buy." One can buy everything––if one has the money––from kumquats to sex, but money itself cannot buy happiness. What it can do is is bring a sense of security, a sense of accomplishment, a sense of entitlement, and so forth and if that fosters happiness, then the answer is yes. Of course then we have to decide what exactly IS happiness–––one person’s happiness is another person’s opposite. Or as Charles Schulz coined it, "Happiness is a warm puppy."

By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 08/27/2009 8:27 am

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Happiness is knowing that for almost 35 years, through ups, middles, and downs, I’ve been able to count on your friendship (and Sleeping Giant’s too!). Money can’t buy friends like you!

By Sam Mirando on 08/27/2009 9:12 am

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Back atcha, Sammy!

By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 08/27/2009 9:39 am

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Whose Sleeping Giant?! "Happiness is a warm puppy," was a good line, although Linus preferred a warm blanket. Ha.

By James the Game on 08/27/2009 8:13 pm

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The greatest thing about having money, extra, lots of money is donating it! A friend and colleague wrote "Give to Live," and everyone should read it (Douglas Lawson); he also wrote my bio!

By C jay on 08/28/2009 10:35 pm

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I dont feel that money can buy you happiness - all money can do is buy material items for you. Money does sometimes make life easier b/c you may not have to rob Peter to pay Paul but buying happiness…No sorry, that is just not going to happen.

You can’t buy people and except those people to really care about you.

You can’t buy LOVE or buy someone to LOVE you b/c that LOVE is not real.

By C Hardy on 08/27/2009 8:29 am

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I agree with you 100% C Hardy. You are right on target! I know about robbing Peter to pay Paul. Hey, I rather do this than to be in an unhappy relationship and surrounded by those who do not love me. You definitely cannot buy love.

By L. C. on 09/01/2009 9:58 am

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How much does happiness cost? You can get a discount on it at the five-and-dime. But seriously…Money doesn’t buy happiness, per se, because there are a whole lot of unhappy millionaires (and a few billionaires) walking around. Although, I must say, I wouldn’t mind having a crack at being one of those "unhappy" rich folks for a while. Ha!

One thing money definitely does is make it possible for one to stop worrying about how to make ends meet, and worrying about the future. I know I’m concerned about how I’ll pay off my debts, and survive after I can no longer work. It’s a frightening prospect, to say the least.

But there is also opportunity in not having money. And it’s hard to put a price tag on the richness of one’s grounded experiences of having to struggle to pay the bills, learning good values and discovering who your true friends are in tough times.

By James the Game on 08/27/2009 8:36 am

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Always enjoy reading your post James. I agree it might be nice to walk in a millionaires shoes, even if just for a little while. We would probably surprise ourselves how good our lives really are.

Maybe the right thinking is - instead of having so much money we don’t know what to do with it ( I actually heard a Dr friend once say, " I have more money then I have sense" - we just need a little more than what we have now. Comfortable is the right word here.

By Eldebbo C on 08/27/2009 2:52 pm

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Thanks Eldebbo. I have more cents than dollars.

By James the Game on 08/27/2009 8:10 pm

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Same here. Knowledge is worth a lot more to me than money.

By Eldebbo C on 08/27/2009 8:59 pm

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Money buying "happiness?" Oh yeah, like if that were true we would see an awful lot of happy millionaires running around. : ) If they are happy it is probably the result of not being attached to anything too, too much, money being a plus but not the end-all, be-all. Like Ethel Merman used to sing: "I got the sun in the morning and the moon in the evening and I’m all right." : ) Of course, you will not be happy on an empty stomach or if you are suffering from any of the numerous slings and arrows that fate may bestow but that is where true happiness lies, I think, when you have enough that you can reach down to help another or when you see that you do not suffer alone but others do, too and they are there to help and encourage you and you, in turn, can one day help and encourage another. Try giving happiness, as they say, and you end up getting it yourself a thousand-fold. You can *decide* to be happy, (as Abe Lincoln once said) it is a shift you make in your inner being (as herculean as that task may be some days : ).

By Eileen Alannah on 08/27/2009 9:03 am

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Money is desperately important to people who don’t have it. I accept that I’m living a life where working for a paycheck is necessary, despite illness, aging, and so on. But I’m happier now than I ever was as a young person. I have a wonderful marriage and the consolations of philosophy.

It would be lovely to have money, and to feel secure in our home, our health, and our basic needs, rather than having to depend on the whims of our corporate employers. It would also be great to have the money to travel and indulge my creative urges more effectively. It would be nice to have the money to take better care of myself. I believe that money would make us happier for all those reasons and more.

Sure, there are miserable millionaires, but it’s a fantasy of the poor to imagine that people with money are less happy than people without it. I don’t see any poor people jumping for joy among those I know. They have real problems, and money could make most of them go away. I think people with money are obviously, demonstrably, much happier overall. For those few who are not, it’s the human condition that no advantage guarantees a perfect life.

By Livia Jones on 08/27/2009 9:09 am