Is money a defining factor in happiness? Does greed outweigh happiness?

There is a lot of debate on whether or not money leads to happiness, and most of the people say no, money does not lead to happiness because money is just paper and family matters (the usual stuff). However, in my opinion money is bigger than just paper, it leads to economic stability (less stress), more free time, better lifestyle, etc. I just wanted to see what you guys think about this.

Updated question as of 11/17/14 (so there are no loops with people constantly arguing the same thing, and those who care to keep the conversation going)
It seems that a majority has said yes, money is a defining factor in happiness. However, with money, also comes greed. Does the greed outweigh the happiness? Greed is rampid in our society in my opinion, assuming that we all have the time to get online, use internet, play video games, I would say that most of us (Including myself) would be defined as greedy since we live with much more than we need, while we do nothing-minimal for those who are less fortunate then us. Is greed even a bad thing though?

 

Id rather be with persons I love than be rich, cant put a price on people and feelings

 

Defining factor to happiness is: passion.

If you're passionate about money and all of the things it can bring you then yes you will be happy but some people are driven by different things and their passion lies in simple things like friends or family or even their work.

 

I'd say it does lead to happiness as like you said, it leads to financial stability and the lifestyle can be quite fun as there's so much that can be done as the money barrier is eliminated.

Money also leads to problems such as family turmoil but I believe you can avoid that if you are a good person and act accordingly.

 

Well the things you can get/have when you have a lot of money far outweigh the ones that you can get/have when you don't have money so I would say it is a factor but not the sole one of course.

 

There is no universally applicable rule. Money doesn't define happiness, but having extra money can give you more time to spend on things that truly make you happy. That said, having less money can do the same, and some people simply find making money fun, so they're not in it just for the "I have $$" reasons one might expect. So, is it a factor? Yes. So is everything. Is it a big one? Arguably. Is it the only one? Definitely not.

Fwiw, you might want to check out some papers in happiness economics - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness_economics. Or go to goole scholar and type in "happy money econ paper" or something. The general finding is that money helps up to some point, but self-reported happiness doesn't increase with earnings past $70-80,000 iirc. I think that's a paper by Easterlin (google Easterlin paradox-related stuff)? Feel free to hit me up if this stuff interests you. It's a pretty interesting field of economics.

See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easterlin_paradox **
http://huwdixon.org/teaching/cei/Easterlin1974.pdf **
http://www.nber.org/papers/w14282
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/re...being income/subjective well being income.pdf

Again, if you have questions, hmu or respond here.

 

Money breaks down most barriers for doing things you want, making it easier to achieve happiness. Having money does not guarantee you will be happy, but if say, being with your family makes you happy, having to work two jobs really hinders your ability to be with your family.

 

I gave each link a quick glance and looked at some key points, and looking at it I noticed Happiness economics isn't really much about money but about almost everything from religion to family, which I thought was pretty cool.

Just wondering, what brought you to decide to start to research and learn about happiness economics? Is economics your major or did you just find this certain field interesting?

 

It depends what you can do with the money.. If u can only spend it on girls booze drugs no it will not buy you happeiness, but to help others, in need will bring you happiness make u feel good, and no MONEY WILL NEVER BRING HAPPINESS, can you cure cancer with money? no. Can you save someone from lung problems? no.

 

You can cure cancer through research, which is funded through donations, fundraisers, etc.

You can save someone from lung problems with medical help which requires health insurance, which is bought with money.

I can see what you mean though, how morality and compassion is correlated with happiness

 

Having enough money to have a comfortable lifestyle is a core thing for my happiness. I can't see myself as one of those guys that literally work from 9-5 every single day just to get by. It must be hell. I'm far from rich but I have enough to enjoy myself. Having more wouldn't really change a lot, there are other factors that are way more crucial for my level of happiness than money.

 

Cool, glad you found it interesting; the Easterlin paper was the only one I know of off the top of my head that deals with money~happiness, but there are several others no doubt (can check his citations online or whatever). And yeah, I am an economics major. I've done a lot of work in certain areas of behavioral economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_economics), which is a field focused on relating the things that we do and ways we do them to economic principles and models. Happiness economics falls in there somewhere, but it's just one part of a vastly more interesting field. I have a paper coming out sometime early next year.

Here are some more papers if you're interested. NBER is particularly interesting because it shows you what people are doing work on. Thankfully, BE is one of those fields where most of the papers are relatively easy to read (i.e., you need no economics background to understand the conclusions at least). Give them a read sometime if you're so inclined:
http://economicspsychologypolicy.blogspot.com/2013/07/most-cited-papers-in-behavioral.html
http://www.nber.org/workinggroups/papers/BE.html

 

A decent income will not make me happy directly, but the things that I can benefit from having the money will.
I like to spend days reading at a nearby cafe like a cultured dipshit, enjoying an experience similar to the "starbucks" experience, but I would need the time and money to do so.
Time that I can spend not having to worry about whether I will eat the next day, and the money to buy my coffee, of course

As long as I'm not slaving at minimal wage for 10 hours a day everyday, I will have more than enough happiness and joy in my life.

 

Yeah, i'll probably check it out more when I have some extra time. Behavior economics is pretty cool, looks like it kind of relates to both psychology and marketing

 

Very often money is a huge deciding factor on whether or not someone is saved from cancer or lung problems.

 

i think money makes almost everything happen more comftorably, it plays a big factor in society today imo. rare to see people happy without it, but theres people like that also

 

i think it is, i mean you can buy everything you desire with money. Look at the things some people do just for a peice of paper.

 

And several other fields as well . Cool though, hope you find it interesting!

 

Money can't really buy some stuffs.

For me, it doesn't lead to FULL happiness. Doing things that I love and be someone who I love will always give me the happiness I want.

On top of that, Money will be the second priority to it.

 

Short answer: Yes. Money gives people a sense of power. Many people live paycheck to paycheck, and having a lot of money can get rid of a lot of the stress that comes with need for money, e.g. bills, hobbies, taking care of loved ones etc. Plus, the more money you have, the more money you can make with investments and such. There will always be people that will never be happy no matter what though, so it really depends on the individual person.