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Start with Challenge Question: It’s an age old saying. Money can’t buy happiness. But can it? Like, actual true happiness?
I guess the question is not so much “can money buy happiness” as it is “what do you consider happiness”?
Quote – “Money can’t buy happiness, but it can make you awfully comfortable while you’re being miserable.” – Clare Boothe Luce
Quote – “Anyone who tells you money can’t buy happiness never had any.” – Samuel L Jackson
For the purposes of this conversation, we are going to define happiness as being able to meet your basic needs, enjoying life experiences and having social ties.
Going off of my boy Maslow, our basic needs mostly can be pretty much be purchased. So money checks the box there.
What about enjoying life experiences? A jet ski is a helluva experience. That cost money. Hiking in the park and enjoying nature is free…minus the mosquito repellant. So overall, that’s free. Disney. Money. Stargazing or beach going (if you’re close to one). Free. Watching movies. A little money. Laughing about your favorite movie with friends. Free.
So it goes both ways there.
So, it is possible to have money buy elements of happiness, but its not necessary. However, it is difficult to say that without basic needs like shelter met, that happiness can be found. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it has to be safe and reliable. That usually takes a form of money. So I’d give the point to money on this one.
Study
In a study done with over 450,000 Americans in 2010, they seemed to correlate a magical number of income where emotional well-being (defined as spending time with people they like, avoiding pain and disease and enjoying leisure) was $75,000.
Adjust for inflation and that’s about $89,000/household.
This is about the average income where the trend of well-being seems to taper off. The study isn’t sure why but they give a few reasons. But I think I have an idea that they kind of danced around but didn’t hit. LIFESTYLE CREEP.
$89k for a household is just enough to keep everyone comfortable, have a nice house, maybe a vacation or two a year if you watch your spending. But its not enough to significantly upgrade your lifestyle and take on debt that can weigh you down and cause stress.
41% of Divorced Gen Xers say they did it because of financial issues and dating experts say that money is the number conf
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About the Podcast
If working a 9-5 for 60 years so you can retire with a little money and die a few years later is what you want to do, then this is not the podcast for you.
Stephen is an executive coach that works with ambitious people to build the life that they want, personally and professionally.
This podcast is about contrarian investment strategies around time, energy and money to build the 4 types of wealth and utilize lifestyle design to create the life we want. The interviews are with hi-earning individuals on how they make money so you can copy us and grow wealth too!
Reaching that first $100k milestone is crucial and then the game changes.
Learn how the wealthy view time, energy and money so you can apply these proven strategies to your life.
