To people who have been both poor and rich: I read a study that surprised me: The richest people rated themselves as only slightly happier than the poorest people. Does that finding hold true for you?
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Name : Gerry, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 34, City : Fort Worth, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Tech Support, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Have you ever heard the phrase 'Money can't buy happiness'? It is a cliche, but there is a lot of truth to that. I have met happy and unhappy people of all economic backgrounds.
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Name : TR24794, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Mormon, Age : 17, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, Yes. yes. yes. There is something comforting about coming home to a neighborhood with paved streets and sidewalks where folks aren't hanging out on the corner. There is something that makes me happy to open the refrigerator or the pantry and see food in plenty of supply. There is something that makes me happy to realize that when my shoes have holes I can pay to have the shoemaker repair them and not just stick something water-resistant inside. There is something comforting about being able to have and run an air-conditioner in the summer and not worry that if I leave my windows open because of the horrible heat that someone will come in and harm me. Money has made all the difference in my world. Money buys safety, and that is a basic human need.
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Name : Anne23859, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 39, City : North, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Health Administrator, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Poorest I've bee: two years when I made about an eighth of the federal poverty level for a family of four (I was single for the first year of it). Richest: about the bottom of the top eighth of the population. Many spots in between before settling into a regular job with a paycheck plus a steady business. Now I'm comfortable. I'm a lot more content now. And the high-income years were fun! Life with money isn't life without worry, but it's life with less worry, and that's a lot. So in that sense I'm happier. But in the sense of how much of a pleasure each day or week is, that's unchanged. You can enjoy your life or not. Some lives are easier to enjoy, or harder, but finally you either find things to like or find ways to suffer. And I have never seen any correlation between how much people choose to enjoy life and how much they have to enjoy. If you can't taste the miracle of hot tomato soup after a February day working as a mover's helper in the rain, you probably can't taste the miracle of a perfect rack of lamb in a four-star Paris restaurant. I've enjoyed both. So yeah, rich beats the heck out of poor as an experience - but not because it makes you happier.
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Name : John-B29405, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : rural area, State : CO Country : United States, Occupation : college professor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, I won't say this for everyone, but yeah I'd rate happiness as constant with personality rather than class. I live in a town outside of Boston filled with housing projects and all of the despair of a typical American ghetto, but the people I live with are about as happy as the middle-class kids I go to college with. I think being poor conditions you to accepting the horrors of life because they happen to you early and often. We become immune. Of course, you should allow for the fact that we really don't know what is going inside anyone's head. I know that I always try and act happy, because it's not a good idea to alienate people in Charlestown. I will allow that this just might be a social condition that poor kids in violent neighborhoods who need 'protection' develop.
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Name : Seamus-M28207, Gender : M, Age : 20, City : Charlestown, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower class, I have observed that both very wealthy and very poor people can afford not to think about money --- the wealthy because they have more of it than they need, and the poor because in all likelihood they will never have very much of it (and thus it does them no good to think about it). I think it is a question of being carefree more than 'happiness' per se, and this can be accomplished by either of the above, though in different ways. Think of the rich person who 'wears life like a cashmere sweater'. Not all rich people are like this; many of them are high-strung and expect more out of life and other people than either can realistically deliver. Then think of the poor person who is 'happy-go-lucky' and 'spends it as he gets it'. However, many if not most poor people worry constantly about where the next dollar is coming from. Keep in mind also that some people of all income levels earn and live below their potential; they do this because life is more relaxing and enjoyable that way. (I should know, because I am one of them!) Those who brand this lifestyle 'lazy' or 'slack' are secretly jealous because they don't have the detachment to live like this. Keep both your desires and your responsibilities within moderate limits, and you'll be both carefree AND happy.
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Name : Augustine23617, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 39, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Happiness comes from within, not material possessions. When I was growing up, my family didn't have very much money, and we went through some very lean times. I used to think that if only we had more money, everything would be better. Then I became friends with a girl at school who came from a fairly well-off family. As I got to know her family, I realized that they were all very unhappy and quite dysfunctional. I began to appreciate my family. We didn't have much money, but I always knew I could count on them and that they loved me no matter what.
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Name : Jacqueline-C21012, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 26, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Before I was 5, we had to struggle, because my mother wasn't working. We had to pay off the house, and then my brother was born. I remember those times as being very happy. We had a rusty old car, ate a lot of lentils and got all our books from the library and I had hand-me-down clothes from the neighbors. My mother and I would go to the museum and the pet shop, which were fun and free. My big Christmas present when I was 5 was a new sweater. Now I look at my parents and brother, and they have two cars, all new clothes, expensive food if they want it, a computer, etc. I think they are probably about as happy as when I was small. When I asked my mother, she said that perhaps she is happier not having to worry about money, but she remembers those times as being as good as I do. Last summer I was living with friends away from home, doing a job that paid minimum wage. I did not have much spare money, but I met my current boyfriend, and it was one of the happiest times of my life. When we graduate, we are probably going to have to live on next to nothing for a while, but I believe that soup eaten with people you love tastes better than steak eaten alone. Although, even when I was little, I hated wearing hand-me-downs from the neighbors - it felt patronizing and demeaning.
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Name : Flora21803, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 20, City : Oxford, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I have been both a 22-year-old making more than $50,000 a year, as well as a broke, in debt, 24-year-old unable to afford a car or rent, eating 50-cent blackbeans from a can. Without the emotional fulfillment from family, friends and loved ones, some thought would reveal that life as a whole is pretty depressing. We are all born, we all get sick, we all die, we have to follow stupid routines everyday, whatever they might be, etc. Yet, here's the kicker: Money is interesting in that, with money, you can afford to pretend that life does not suck. With money, you can distract yourself from the daily drone of life and from the hauntings of reality that might dance in your head. You can create variety to mask the problems. Money provides blinders, and in this world, that can be fabulous. Money is freedom, and, in effect, I am happier more of the time with it than without it.
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Name : Mr. Dickerson, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 27, City : Tucson, State : AZ Country : United States, Occupation : Student/Actor, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, I know someone who used to be dirt-poor college student, and now he is making 1+ million a year, being able to afford to give a $70,000 car as a birthday gift for his dad and so on. And he told me the most money can do is to allow you the luxury of not having to worry about being poor. Beyond that, riches is a source of worry in itself. You have to worry about having your car stolen, your kids being kidnapped, not investing wisely with all that cash and so on. I suppose in economic terms, getting weathier follows the law of dimishing returns on happiness. The utility actually goes down as you gain money, beyond a certain point.
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Name : Poro Poro, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 26, City : Toronto, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : Computer Programmer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I think people who have acquired their own wealth are different from those raised with it. I think 'self-made' wealthy people are proud of their accomplishment and maybe a little amazed by it, and are still rooted in the values of their upbringing. They are probably as happy or unhappy as anyone else. Some stressors have been lifted, but new ones have taken their place. On the other hand, people I know who were raised with wealth are confused and unhappy, neurotic or even self-destructive. I think wealth can be a terrible handicap for a child. I've been both poor and rich, and believe it or not, one doesn't feel much different from the other. Being rich is nice but is seriously overrated. Being poor (by U.S. standards) is frustrating but not the end of the world. Being poor (by Third World standards) must be hellish.
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Name : Karen26775, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Newport News, State : VA Country : United States, Occupation : accountant, I have been at both ends: Grandpa died a few years back and left me $30,000. Not a fortune, but a nice chunk: Didn't worry about groceries, paying rent, bought the piano I wanted, paid for college, forgot to cash my regular paycheck twice, but never got laid during this time. Been poor: Eating Ramen noodles, living off credit cards and minimum wage, wondering how to pay for food, debt stacked up, lack of options, staying home every night 'cause of no money, and never got laid. Bottom line: Rich is better ... and I don't get laid much.
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Name : Chris, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 34, City : B, State : VA Country : United States, Occupation : Computer geek, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Born rich, been poor ... it's been a real education on both sides. What do I like better? Why, having enough to pay my bills and get my kids through school. But one of the things that has been the best lesson: I no longer need the fancy house, the extraordinary car or the top of the line clothes, but I do need the security that money can buy. Like if my husband dies, I own my own home, or if I get too old and creaky and crazy, I'm not thrown away in some substandard nursing home where they mistreat you. I was raised in a VERY wealthy family, and trust me, it's not always what it's cracked up to be. You lose sight of what it is to be a normal person when you are raised with more money than you know what to do with. Money can be a curse if you don't manage it wisely. You don't need to keep up with the Joneses. This is a real fallacy of the so-called American dream. Decide what is real and what is not. And most of all, what is really important.
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Name : Lindsay H., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Deaf, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 49, City : San Antonio, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : self-employed, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Money won't make you happy, but it can set you free. I have known many, many very wealthy people, and one thing I can say is that while their wealth did not make them happy, it did allow them to be more purely themselves. Those who were kind and gentle became the nicest people you would ever meet. Those who were aggressive became the biggest assholes in the universe. The money didn't make them change, it just allowed them to act with less inhibition according to their personalities. So, people who are naturally happy will be happy rich or poor. Also, while money can't buy you love, it does improve your bargaining position.
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Name : JGW, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Deaf, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 35, City : Seattle, State : WA Country : United States, Occupation : Architect / Real Estate Developer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, When it comes to material things, some people always want more and are therefore chronically discontent. However, as someone who is now struggling financially, I can tell you that being poor is very stressful, not knowing if you can pay your rent and utilities and decent food. I've noticed that most people who say "money can't buy happiness" don't live from one paycheck to the next. They have a measure of financial security that many of us lack. It's true that money doesn't guarantee happiness, but it sure makes life easier. For example, if I had a newer car, I'd feel safer and less worried about car repair bills. Some of my neighbors can't afford cars and have to stand outside in all kinds of weather waiting for the bus. I"m sure they'd be happier if they could drive the
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Name : ShirleyAvery, Gender : F, Disability : none, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 52, City : st. louis, State : MO Country : United States, Occupation : writer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
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