Happiness

[Mermaid]

No no no. For a million reasons. You need enough to live comfortably (to your standards of comfort ) and anything beyond that is asking for trouble!

 

[Minnie]

Make you happier, definitely does not guarantee you would be any happier but as KISH7374 said it can definitely make things easier and less stressful.

For example when our daughter has moved during college, we go and help to save money. My wealthy friend simply calls a mover and pays to have it done. They don't fret over the cost of things, don't have to worry about saving money to purchase a new air conditioner, or stolen vehicles and such. They take the most fabulous vacations.

It would make me very happy to be able, as they do, to write my Mom a huge check for her expenses, since she is struggling.

So yes definitely would make things easier.

 

[aggieb]

Make you happier, definitely does not guarantee you would be any happier but as KISH7374 said it can definitely make things easier and less stressful.

For example when our daughter has moved during college, we go and help to save money. My wealthy friend simply calls a mover and pays to have it done. They don't fret over the cost of things, don't have to worry about saving money to purchase a new air conditioner, or stolen vehicles and such. They take the most fabulous vacations.

It would make me very happy to be able, as they do, to write my Mom a huge check for her expenses, since she is struggling.

So yes definitely would make things easier.

minnie, we just spent a whole lot of moolah for our move, did we want to? hell no. did we have to? yes. sometimes you have to do it, not because it's easier to hire a moving company but sometimes you don't have a choice. did i want to bite the bullet and sell my car for a whole lot less than i wanted to, just so someone could come get it. no, but i had to. it's not about stuff like that, just like someone else said i can't remember who, happiness comes from within. i try to remember this everday.

 

[Minnie]

I agree Aggie, as I said it would not guarantee happiness, but it sure can make things less stressful, when you have the cash to do things that many of us worry over.

So would it make me happy, No, less stressed, Yes.

 

[ItzKatzTime]

Would more money make you happy(ier)?

Definitely YES! If I had more money I could help more people...and that's what makes me the happiest.

 

[Scooter]

for ITZKATZTIME!

 

[NoHall]

I agree Aggie, as I said it would not guarantee happiness, but it sure can make things less stressful, when you have the cash to do things that many of us worry over.

So would it make me happy, No, less stressed, Yes.

I was talking to a therapist friend about this a few years ago. I had just started a business, bought my grandmother's house, etc., and I was stressed out over money.

He said, "Why is this upsetting you so much?"

I answered, with an edge of irritation, "Because it's all I can do to pay my bills!"

He asked, "Well, what's the worst that can happen?"

My irritation grew: "I could have my electricity turned off! I could lose my car! I could lose my house!"

"And..."

"And then I would have to move to an apartment, a trailer, or back in with my parents!"

"I thought you said you like your parents. That doesn't sound so bad to me."

He went on to point out to me (as one evangelical crazy to another) that if I claim to trust God then I won't stress about losing my home, even if it means living in a cardboard box under a bridge.

I can honestly say that I have not had any real anxiety over money in the years since that conversation. The bills always got paid, even the unexpected ones, and I'm genuinely comfortable on a salary that most people would laugh at. I have debt, but it's controlled and manageable--I don't live above my means, and hope to have it paid off in a set amount of time. Before that conversation I never went anywhere because I feared couldn't afford it. Now I enjoy finding deals on vacations and traveling with friends. I'm a much happier person since I realized that I would be okay even if I lived in a box under a bridge, and the likelihood of that happening seems ridiculously remote now that I don't fear it anymore.

Worry will not add a single day to your life, and it will greatly diminish the days that you have.

 

[NoHall]

p.s. I just spent half my pay from the show I'm wrapping up this weekend on a month of kickboxing lessons. I'll admit that it makes me happy. :boxing:

 

[Lynnie]

I was talking to a therapist friend about this a few years ago. I had just started a business, bought my grandmother's house, etc., and I was stressed out over money.

He said, "Why is this upsetting you so much?"

I answered, with an edge of irritation, "Because it's all I can do to pay my bills!"

He asked, "Well, what's the worst that can happen?"

My irritation grew: "I could have my electricity turned off! I could lose my car! I could lose my house!"

"And..."

"And then I would have to move to an apartment, a trailer, or back in with my parents!"

"I thought you said you like your parents. That doesn't sound so bad to me."

He went on to point out to me (as one evangelical crazy to another) that if I claim to trust God then I won't stress about losing my home, even if it means living in a cardboard box under a bridge.

I can honestly say that I have not had any real anxiety over money in the years since that conversation. The bills always got paid, even the unexpected ones, and I'm genuinely comfortable on a salary that most people would laugh at. I have debt, but it's controlled and manageable--I don't live above my means, and hope to have it paid off in a set amount of time. Before that conversation I never went anywhere because I feared couldn't afford it. Now I enjoy finding deals on vacations and traveling with friends. I'm a much happier person since I realized that I would be okay even if I lived in a box under a bridge, and the likelihood of that happening seems ridiculously remote now that I don't fear it anymore.

Worry will not add a single day to your life, and it will greatly diminish the days that you have.

Ditto, NoFunn! Trust and faith are both pretty amazing. As I continue to pull out of this mess, I look forward to my set goal having everything paid. And, I have still managed to travel, play, have fun. I have brief moments of panic, then something happens that makes me realize how fortunate I am, fundamentally lucky and blessed. The panic dissipates pretty quickly.

Right now, I've overcommitted myself. Am trying to get my yard in good shape this weekend, have work to do in my basement, converting my garage to an art studio, finish a painting this weekend, go to a birthday party, work out, drink too much and relax. All of this because while you have the summer off, this is one of the first summers in a very long time I'll be working my fanny off.

It's gorgeous and I'd love nothing more than to sit by the pool, however. Hmmmm.......maybe I'll do that instead. The rest will get done when it gets done. And, I want a pair of Old Gringos......

 

[NoHall]

Ditto, NoFunn! Trust and faith are both pretty amazing. As I continue to pull out of this mess, I look forward to my set goal having everything paid. And, I have still managed to travel, play, have fun. I have brief moments of panic, then something happens that makes me realize how fortunate I am, fundamentally lucky and blessed. The panic dissipates pretty quickly.

Rebuke that panic! Panic is useless. I refuse to allow it, and demand that you do the same.

Right now, I've overcommitted myself. Am trying to get my yard in good shape this weekend, have work to do in my basement, converting my garage to an art studio, finish a painting this weekend, go to a birthday party, work out, drink too much and relax. All of this because while you have the summer off, this is one of the first summers in a very long time I'll be working my fanny off.

It's gorgeous and I'd love nothing more than to sit by the pool, however. Hmmmm.......maybe I'll do that instead. The rest will get done when it gets done. And, I want a pair of Old Gringos......

I think I misspoke--I don't have the summer off. I just don't have to go to work during the summer.

I spent the morning at the DIY home improvement retailers. While I'm "off" for the next two weeks:

• I'm getting rid of the old, ugly wallboard in my bathroom (not the master bath, not the guest bath--THE bathroom!) and tiling around the tub and shower.
• I'm replacing the 50-year-old spigots and the handles I got from the hardware store a few years ago and am putting in a wonderful new shower head. (I'll still have to use the rubber plug in the tub drain, since I'm not springing for a brand new bathtub right now.)
• I'm replacing the $20 sink faucet I got a few years back.
• I'm installing a pocket door. (Actally, I'll have help for this one.)
• I'm replacing the ancient light/fan in the ceiling.
• I'm putting in crown molding. (As was the custom of the day, the "molding" in the bathroom consists of quarter-round in every corner. Tacky!)
• I'm putting up one of those fancy curved shower curtain rods--upTOWN.
• I'm painting the walls to coordinate with the row of seaglass in the shower tile and the stained glass window in the bathroom.
• I'm painting and rehanging my kitchen cabinet doors, and hopefully they'll be level when I'm done.
• I'm painting the ceilings and the woodwork.
• I'm making new cushions for the daybed in the guestroom.

How does this tie in with this thread, you ask? I bought all that stuff for under $600 this morning! I'll have to pay someone to do the pocket door, but I'm doing the rest of it myself, as soon as I finish re-roofing my garage on Monday.