The key to happiness - and it's not MONEY

[Vulcanl]

It is clear to me that there are way too many people out there who pursue money as THE source of happiness in their lives.  I submit that money is not the answer by any means, and this study is a good first piece of evidence:

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200906/happiness

[tweek]

Let's say you ask 20 people what THE key to happiness is, then. I'm going to guess you'll get about 20 different answers and each time you add more people to your survey, you're likely to get just as many more different answers to the question. Rocket science, it is not.

I'm also going to guess most people will put at least a bit of money somewhere in the equation because most people like having a few nice things and taking nice holidays or whatever. Not a whole lot wrong with that, IMO. I'm not entirely sure I've ever met anyone who truly believes and lives as if money really is the ONLY way to absolute happiness - and you likely haven't either. You just seem to belittle and look down upon anyone who visibly - to your eyes - spends money on themselves and their lifestyle - i.e. hires a maid for any reason at all, buys a car, rents or owns a condo or house, and probably a host of other sins.

I'll suggest at least SOME of the key to your own happiness would be to live and let live - life is a bit short to spend it stressed out about how OTHER PEOPLE are living THEIR OWN lives. But maybe that's just me.

[working_mom]

People pursue money more for power than for happiness. Its merely a replacement to the lack of happiness in their lives.

[Vulcanl]

Tweek,

"... life is a bit short to spend it stressed out about how OTHER PEOPLE are living THEIR OWN lives..."

Thanks for that.  This phenomenon becomes my business when (for example) people earning less than 100K a year start buying houses that cost 1 Million dollars due to easy credit and lack of attention to their own finances.

How, you might ask?  Well, it drives prices of housing up for me, who IS trying to be responsible with their finances and as a result of making prudent financial decisions I get priced out of the home market and I have to resort to living in HDB (which for the record I don't mind, just using this as an example).

Now, let's say Kubes and CT are correct about the housing market here and it crashes, causing cataclismic fallout.  Property tax collections dry up, the gov't is forced to raise taxes for all and guess what - again, I have attempted to live a prudent financial life and I have to pay the price for some one else's mistakes.

Sound far-fetched?  This is precisely what has occurred in my home country. 

[tweek]

I see your point about the housing market situation due to too much money being handed out hand over fist by irresponsible banks to irresponsible people. I too come from the US and twice when buying property in the US in years past I was offered way more money from banks than I was comfortable borrowing and for me the solution was simple - buy a house that was in the price range I was comfortable paying - no problems. I don't own any property back in the US right now, but, guess what -- now and in the next year at least is going to be the perfect time for me to scoop up a bargain should I choose to, so all is not doom and gloom from where I sit as one who has almost no debt and money in the bank. People who are wise with their money generally come out ahead in the long run, so don't give your self a stroke or heart attack over this situation or anything.

All that stuff aside though, someone else made a valid point on the other thread with regards to you and your personal life choices -- it was something along the lines of 'one size doesn't fit all' and your choices & belief systems don't need to be and really shouldn't be shoved down other people's throats. Honestly, the theme of your life as you portray it on this board is pretty gloomy - almost like everyone is out to screw you or something & you are the only dude out there living an honest, productive, worthwhile life. My comment of live and let live still stands and I'll add a second vote for the 'pull it in a bit' comment from the other thread.

[Splat]

good friends + wine + cheese + chocolate > the housing market. why are you talking about the housing market?? 

[Vulcanl]

Tweek,

Your management of finances and your handling of the recently popped bubble at home mirrors my own. 

This is the happiest I have ever been in my life!  What I am trying to highlight and bring to the fore is that one does not need material status symbols to achieve this state of happiness.

I have to take the tone I do because believe it or not, many people do not think like you and I and the message needs to be intense to a certain extent for it to get across.

If all this sounds like some kind of evangelization, so be it, I am guilty as charged. 

It is shocking to me how blind people can be.  I am trying to do what I can to change this herd mentality. 

[Vulcanl]

The below is old, a friend passed it on to me more than 10 years ago before the recent shift in the Global economy.  I don't know who the author is. 

Living below your means is a good way to avoid getting caught up in the chase of material status symbols.  It fits in well with the spirit of this thread:

"One year from now, I'm quitting my job and traveling around the world for 12-18 months. It's a lifelong dream sparked by the tattered yellow covers of National Geographic, an abiding love of adventure and sheer wanderlust. I'm headed to Africa, New Zealand, and SE Asia.... and wherever else the mood takes me. The realization of my dream would not have been possible without living below my means for my brief (I'm 27) adult working life.

Many posit that LBYM is merely a series of money-saving devices where the bywords are cheap, sacrifice and, most of all, ENDURE; getting furniture at garage sales, cutting coupons, refusing to run air conditioning in the middle of the summer, going to matinees, zealously balancing your checkbook, eating pasta three times a day. LBYM is an ascetic discipline in which you stoically grit your teeth and pray that one day you'll be rewarded for your years of martyrdom. By God, it develops character too!

Not for me. I don't doubt that these things are helpful but frankly I find them stifling: there is a bigger picture which supersedes the penny pinching minutia; to be truthful, my AC runs at Ice Age levels, I've never balanced a checkbook in my life, I like nothing more than blowing money on a nice dinner out and I don't cut coupons. And yet I save more money than anyone I know with comparable earnings. How?

Because I know that LBYM is not what you DO, it's what you ARE.  LBYM doesn't build character -- it  IS your character, your essential makeup. How you feel about yourself. The ways in which you try to shape the world to your advantage. LBYM is not a mechanistic process of adopting piecemeal changes to your life: it's embracing an entire philosophy which values freedom over serfdom, responsibility over avarice, a basic championing of reality over fantasy. I would argue that LBYM is as much a philosophy as it is a process -- if you can master the big picture (essentially just the rules of basic reality) it's extraordinary how everything else falls into place with little effort.

Reality #1:    If you want something and you can't afford it, you can't have it. At least not yet. Save. If it's still unobtainable, ask yourself again why you wanted it. Status? Prestige? Perception? Most likely. Would something similar but less extravagant suffice? Most likely.

Reality #2:    There's a word for those who are constantly saying, "I want! I need! I must have!" The word is not greedy. Nor is it materialistic. Nor is it evil. The word is child. Children are not bad. They are not unintelligent. They just have little acquaintance with reality. And often, little sense of temperance. If they want a fire truck, by  God  they see no sensible reason why they shouldn't have a fire truck now. Now! Most people in debt own fire trucks.   Many, many fire trucks. Living within your means is a basic acknowledgement of reality; it's basically being a grown-up.  Unfortunately, we increasingly live in a society of children.

Reality #3:    Debt is serfdom. We live in an incredibly prosperous free country with the liberty (economic, social, cultural) to essentially do as we please. Folks, we won a genetic lottery where the odds were far more likely that we'd grow up in a place like Angola than Iowa. We're 4.5% of the Earth's population. The First World as a whole is perhaps 15-20%. Instead of celebrating freedom by embracing it, (in all of its forms) we sell ourselves into bondage for the sake of baubles, trappings and toys. Anyone takes umbrage? Tell me Mr. Debtor, what happens to your life if you don't show up to the fields for the next month? What is "freedom?" Can you sincerely say you have it?

Reality #4:    Yes, you are poor. When I got my first job -- a pretty good one -- I literally had nothing to start me off in my apartment.  So I bought a bed, weaseled a crappy coffee table out of my brother and got an old couch at a clearance sale. There went the furniture fund. All of my friends were going to Sharper Image and decorating their places: leather couches, chic artwork, big screen televisions, and $3,000 stereo systems. Most put it on their credit cards -- they promised they'd "pay themselves back" as the year progressed. They "needed" these things. They'd all grown up in upper-middle class homes, were graduates from a fine university and they were ready to be Yuppies. They also had no net worth. We call that poverty. They were middle-class because their parents were -- they had nothing to do with it. Yes, you are poor. Live like it.

Reality #5:    It's probably your fault and even if it's not, it's still your problem. "I'm in debt because of bad luck. I got laid off because of industry cutbacks and they repossessed my car." Oh you mean, that $25,000 new car that you financed with no down payment despite the fact that you make $35,000 a year? Oh, OK. Bad luck. I see. "I bought Amazon.com on margin and it ruined me. Oh well, the market's unpredictable -- it could have happened to anyone." Oh. Could it have? Refer to Realities 1-4. If you accept them, you'll only rarely find yourself at #5.

I hope my analysis isn't too critical or self-aggrandizing. I'm no authority. I've simply stumbled onto a worldview that I find incredibly empowering. Best of luck to you all. Maybe I'll see you in Namibia!..."

[Vulcanl]

We have all become quite indifferent to the excessive sums that some are paid for what they do.  The below bolded sections pretty much sum up our attitude - a transaction between private parties so it's no one else's business.

I wonder, though what our children think when they read a news story like this.  Not everyone can be a celebrity and earn vast sums of money for doing what comes naturally to them.  Is this going to discourage them from attaining higher education?  Will they become discouraged when they find themselves in debt to the tune of more than USD 100K after completing law school, only to have extreme difficulty in finding a job (as is happening to at least one young person the in the USA currently) in an economic environment like ours? 

Is Ronaldo (and others like him) really worth this kind of money, or is this massive distortion the result of Corporate marketing run amok and/or sleazy lawyers looking for a quick buck?

Think about it:

"...THE NEW GALACTICOS
Ronaldo: £80m? It's because I'm worth it
By Soccernet staff
ESPN.com
July 4, 2009

Cristiano Ronaldo believes that the £80million Real Madrid paid for him is a "fair price" and he is more than comfortable with being the most expensive player in the world.

Ronaldo will be officially unveiled as the Spanish giants' latest signing to follow last week's presentations of Kaka and Raul Albiol have already been presented following their respective moves from AC Milan and Valencia. Lyon striker Karim Benzema is close to completing his switch to Madrid as Real's spending spree rapidly approaches the £200million mark - almost quarter of a billion euros.

Despite some disquiet about Real's big-spending policy at a time of economic depression when few other clubs can compete, Ronaldo, never short of self-confidence, believes Madrid are justified in paying the fee - and also feels he can live up to the price tag.

"I think that it's a fair figure. If Manchester United and Real Madrid agree this amount, then there is nothing more to say," he told Spanish tabloid Marca. "The great players cost a lot of money, and if you want them you have to pay it. I'm happy to be the most expensive player in the world."

In response to those who have qualms about so much money being spent on one footballer, he added: "I respect everyone's opinions, but I don't agree with these people. "If Real Madrid have paid so much money, it's because they wanted me and have considered it a fair price.

"I'm going to try to do everything in my hands to play very well and I will show that the money they are paying for me has been a good decision."

At a club who finished potless last season and have suffered diminishing returns in the Champions League since they last won the tournament in 2002, much will be demanded of Ronaldo, yet the Portugal international is confident he can deal with the expectations.

"I've been used to having pressure for a long time. In this sense I'm calm," he said. "This (price tag) isn't something I'm going to think about when I go out on to the pitch, so it's not going to affect me.

"I know that they are going to demand a lot of me to be successful at the club and I know that I'm going to have much more pressure than at Manchester United, because I was there for many years. But it means a new challenge and is going to help me be the best footballer.

"As well as that, Spain is a different league - with different players, a different club - and this is going to motivate me to continue working hard and winning things."

Meanwhile, Real Madrid need to sign two more players and off-load about 10 to round off their summer transfer dealings, club president Florentino Perez has said.

"Now we need to calm down a little because squads usually have around 25 players and ours now has some 35," Perez told Spanish television station Cuatro.

"We need to concentrate our efforts on convincing some players that they will have to leave. It should not be forgotten there is a World Cup next summer and all our players want to play in it.

"If players aren't going to have the chance to participate here they'll want to do it somewhere else, to be able to make it to the World Cup.

"As to new signings, I think with two more we would have sufficient."

Perez was asked about Real's interest in Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery and Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.

"They are both great players but their clubs don't want to sell them, though in the world of football situations can change," he added.

Real have already sold Javier Saviola, and the Dutch contingent of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Royston Drenthe and Klaas Jan Huntelaar are all reportedly on the market..."

[Pripps]

Its odd but normally when you finally get the desired Porsche, the model as wife or the great mansion you dreamed of then suddenly you realize it wasn't that great - the Porsche, the wife and the mansion have high maintenance and other drawbacks. Probably better to just test-drive a Porsche now and then. That is my take on happiness.

[Dr. Phil]

Its odd but normally when you finally get the desired Porsche, the model as wife or the great mansion you dreamed of then suddenly you realize it wasn't that great - the Porsche, the wife and the mansion have high maintenance and other drawbacks. Probably better to just test-drive a Porsche now and then. That is my take on happiness.

Keep the porsche, test drive the prospective wives!

Money may not buy happiness but it can certainly eliminate many, many things which can deny happiness.

[Vulcanl]

Pripps,

"...Probably better to just test-drive a Porsche now and then..."

I think that you have just hit on a great idea.  In order to prevent the uninitiated from inadvertently enslaving themselves to a life of material pursuit,  let's give them the opportunity to 'test drive' that private condo, branded bag, etc.  

Such a program could be funded by a luxury consumer tax.  When they have a chance to see for themselves firsthand that there is no true joy to be found in these things, they still have an opportunity to 'get out.'

[Vulcanl]

Amen...

Pope Proposes New Financial Order Guided by Ethics
 
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 7, 2009
Filed at 8:41 a.m. ET

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI called Tuesday for a new world financial order guided by ethics, dignity and the search for the common good in the third encyclical of his pontificate.

In ''Charity in Truth,'' Benedict denounced the profit-at-all-cost mentality of the globalized economy and lamented that greed had brought about the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

''Profit is useful if it serves as a means toward an end,'' he wrote. ''Once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty.''

The document, in the works for two years and repeatedly delayed to incorporate the fallout from the crisis, was released one day before leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations meet to coordinate efforts to deal with the global meltdown.

The release was clearly designed to give world leaders a strong moral imperative to correct errors of the past, ''which wreaked such havoc on the real economy,'' and make a more socially just and responsible world financial order.

''The economy needs ethics in order to function correctly -- not any ethics, but an ethics which is people centered,'' he wrote.

The German-born Benedict, 82, has spoken out frequently about the impact of the crisis on the poor, particularly in Africa which he visited earlier this year. But the 144-page encyclical, one of the most authoritative documents a pope can issue, marked a new level of church teaching by linking the Vatican's long-standing doctrine on caring for the poor with current events.

While acknowledging that the globalized economy has ''lifted billions of people out of misery,'' Benedict accused the unbridled growth of recent years of causing unprecedented problems as well, citing mass migration flows, environmental degradation and a complete loss of trust in the world market.

He urged wealthier countries to increase development aid to poor countries to help eliminate world hunger, saying peace and security depended on it. He specified that aid should go to agricultural development to improve infrastructure, irrigation systems, transport and sharing of agricultural technology.

At the same time, he demanded that industrialized nations reduce their energy consumption, both to better care for the environment and to let the poorer have access to energy resources.

''One of the greatest challenges facing the economy is to achieve the most efficient use -- not abuse -- of natural resources, based on a realization that the notion of 'efficiency' is not value-free,'' he wrote.

He denounced that the drive to outsource work to the cheapest bidder had endangered the rights of workers, and demanded that workers be allowed to organize in unions to protect their rights and guarantee steady, decent employment.

Benedict called for a whole new financial order -- ''a profoundly new way of understanding business enterprise'' -- that respects the dignity of workers and looks out for the common good by prioritizing ethics and social responsibility over dividend returns.

Kirk Hanson, a business ethics professor at Santa Clara University, said the encyclical is likely to spark debate over capitalism and social justice.

''When a group of U.S. Catholic bishops issued a similar statement during the Reagan years, it sparked a nationwide debate about the fairness of our capitalist system,'' said Hanson, who chaired the hearings leading up to the bishops' statement.

Benedict stressed he wasn't opposed to a globalized economy, saying that if done correctly it has an unprecedented potential to redistribute wealth around the globe. But he warned that if badly directed and if the problems aren't fixed, globalization can increase poverty and inequality and trigger the type of crisis under way.

Benedict has written two previous encyclicals in his four years as pope: ''God is Love'' in 2006 and ''Saved by Hope'' in 2007.

His pronouncement on world finance for his third raised questions about the state of the Vatican's own books.

The Vatican was implicated in a major Italian banking scandal in the 1980s in the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano, in which the Vatican's bank was the major shareholder. The Vatican agreed to pay $250 million to Ambrosiano's creditors, while denying any wrongdoing.

Last October, at the start of the meltdown, a top Vatican bank official issued assurances that its deposits were safe and had no liquidity problems, saying the bank had stayed away from derivatives, the financial instruments blamed for many of the steep loses in the meltdown.

Other officials have said 80 percent of the Vatican's investments are in low-yield government bonds and 20 percent in stocks and that the Vatican follows an ethical code: no investments in companies that produce arms or contraceptives.

The Vatican in its annual financial statement issued Saturday said it ran a deficit in 2008 for the second straight year, posting a euro900,000 ($1.28 million) loss, compared with a loss of euro9.06 million a year earlier.

[T2K]

I think it's completely obvious that money isn't the key to happiness.  How could it be?  Money itself is just pieces of paper or digits in a bank account statement.

BUT - the things you can use money for CAN be the the keys to happiness.  The fears and worries that money can free you from CAN be the keys to happiness.

If your passion was mountain climbing, then climbing the highest peak on each continent and then spending the rest of your life mentoring younger climbers to do the same would be something which would maybe make you truly happy.  It would cost A LOT of money though.

Money alone is not the key to happiness, sure, BUT that doesn't mean money is evil.  It's not.

[Vulcanl]

T2K,

You make a good point.  It doesn't explain, however why it is that some people earning hundreds of thousands and millions per year still seek more.  Isn't 1 million per annum enough, for example?

As working mom has mentioned, I think it has to do with power (perceived and otherwise).

I would like to stretch the definition of money to the pursuit of material things, especially. 

Overall it strikes me that there is a ceiling for all of us - we reach a point where one just doesn't have enough time in life to play with all one's toys at once.  Isn't there?