i decided that money does buy happiness

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2003
i decided that money does buy happiness
8
Wed, 03-17-2004 - 11:45pm
i just resigned my lease at my "vintage" apartment (aka old and dingy) and passed up the coolest 42nd floor panoramic city and lake view place for less than a few hundred dollars a month in utilities. (where i live, that's not a big difference, but for my pocketbook it is!) and i am looking around my place being upset. if i had money- i could go to GREAT doctors without waiting so long, i could have a beautiful apartment which would make me happy because my surroundings would be uplifting, i could buy all of the clothes, shoes and accessories i want (yes, material things sometimes can make you happy), and a car (which always makes me feel better because i feel free), and a dog, and a place in a warm location because this chicago weather is killing me, and not have to worry about work which i am just not right for anything with my health and brain. so, i have decided that the saying "money doesn't buy happiness" should be changed and i should just instantly be rich because i want to be. :)

don't you agree?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Thu, 03-18-2004 - 6:16am

Hi hun,


Have to add my

*hugs             

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-12-2004
Thu, 03-18-2004 - 8:46am
I saw a signature on a bulletin board post once that read something like this - "Whoever said money can't buy happiness has never owned a dog."

Unfortunately, that's the only part of the original post that I fully agree with.

Surroundings can be a downer - yes indeedy. My house was a constant source of embarrassment for me because my ex wouldn't get off his backend to paint, wallpaper, or anything for the first six years we were there. It's 80-plus years old and was in need of some repair. Of course, by the time he got around to doing it, the cost of it is something that I am now having to deal with since he baled out shortly thereafter.

Am I happy? Not really. I'm not embarrassed any more for someone to come in the house, but that's as far as that goes. I have a 2001 Impala. Nice car. Did that make me happy? Nah. I would have been just as happy in a smaller, cheaper car (happier, actually, since my payments would have been less, and I could have had more cash on hand to pay for bills).

Money makes life easier, but humans are a fickle lot, and we seem to need more and more and more to make us happy (materialistically).

You need to be happy with yourself before you can be truly happy. And that takes some doing. Seeing your physician would be a good start, and if s/he brushes you off, pursue it and don't let that happen. You're not happy. There could be a physical reason for it, and it is the responsibility of your physician to help you find that out.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-18-2003
Thu, 03-18-2004 - 9:15am



Hey there sweetie,

Okay here are my two cents now......

I agree with you and I dont agree with you on the materialistic side I know for me when I buy a new outfit or get a really great pair of shoes it makes me happy because I baught it for me and I like how it looked on me and it was something that I wanted does it continue to make me happy not really it eather gets too big or too tight depending on the eating situation for me..I disagree with you because I have had money I have had a nice car a great condo that I baught with my sons father and it didnt make me happier and it was a great place bright sunshine coming in plus I lived in arizona so there is constant sunshine but thats not the point ya money is great to pay off bills to buy clothes but it doesnt make you happy in the long term I have friends who grew up with money and they were miserable they drank way too much did drugs they hated their life I was happier than they were and I am miserable half the time.

I know that you are in a pinch right now but it will not last forever you can do things to change your life I know chicago is always cold the winters are horrible but spring is two days away and the sun will shine again and caly is right you are free step outside take in the air walk around that makes you free a car doesnt make you free.

I wish I had something great to say but my mind is in a swirl today.

you know I love ya hun things will improve for you try to think of all the good things that you have you have a great boyfriend you are a beautiful person in and out you are smart funny you give great advice you are caring and supportive you have it all and none of it can be baught or sold take care sweetie, things will iomprove.

Erin

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-15-2003
Thu, 03-18-2004 - 10:13am
He he! I just wanted to say hi as I haven't "seen" you around alot lately, Vouguegirl!!

Pamela

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-07-2004
Thu, 03-18-2004 - 10:28am
Have you ever heard the saying, "If, if's and buts were candy and nuts we'd all have a merry christmas". lol

Life is so funny. We are always wanting what we don't have. Money can buy things which fill a void- and having the void filled makes us happy. Situations go well and that makes us happy. Things come and go and life is always changing. We have to be prepared for that. Good things can change to bad in a New York minute. I do agree that things do make us happy. But joy, true joy, comes from inner peace and being happy can change because when circumstances change the mood changes. But when you have joy it is constant & never changing. I found deep joy when I fulfilled a spirtual need in my life. A need we all have. I found answers in the bible. Seek joy dear and you will find happiness.


Edited 3/18/2004 11:30 am ET ET by nanacatie

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-09-2003
Fri, 03-19-2004 - 12:04am
VG,

I've had a lot of money, beautiful surroundings, clothes and accessories, and even the recquisite dog and I was just as depressed as any other time. I've sat on a beach in Kauai and been miserably depressed, even more so because I felt so pathetic for not being able to appreciate the beauty around me. Money doesn't buy happiness. It buys ease with some things, but it also destroys people's values and priorities. I'm not saying rich people can't be happy. It's just that most rich people I've known weren't happy.

I know how you feel though. Money is a big issue for me right now. Gave up the beautiful house overlooking the ocean to save a lot of money last year. I actually like this little place a bit better than the grand place. Less upkeep, too. That's a big bonus when you are depressed.

You are going through a huge transition right now with your job status. You are really taking care of yourself to not commit to a place that will add even more stress to your life.

Give yourself tons of space to be afraid and know that you will make it through this, with a little help from your boy and your friends.

Love,

MariaC

Visitor (not verified)
anonymous user
Fri, 03-19-2004 - 11:17am
Hi Voguegirl, I agree that money can buy happiness.......but this is why it often does not work....We make money into our GOD.

If we turned making money into a hobby instead of viewing it as work, then we would be happy. We could buy the things we love and enjoy it. However I think its important that we not be afraid of losing it. If we are so afraid of losing it, I think that means we have made it into our God. That is when we are always worried about money, and get depressed over money, etc. Its a very find line between the two.

I read in a book that Money is NOT the root of all evil, but the LOVE of money is.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-12-2004
Fri, 03-19-2004 - 1:12pm
I think it's very difficult to not worry about money if you have bills and nothing to pay them with and no means of acquiring any. I don't think that means one has made money his/her God. We're only human, and I honestly saw what happened to someone who DIDN'T worry about money, and at the time of our divorce he had over $60,000 in credit card debt which he wasn't paying off. He lost his car to repo and a motorcycle to repo. But, he wasn't worried....