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How much money would make you happy?

M

mpw

Guest
Original poster
Jun 18, 2004
6,363
1
How much money would make you happy?

It not a question about whether people should work hard for what they get or whether people who 'have it easy' are less worthy or something. Just imagine some bloke comes up to you in the street and says he's an eccentric billionaire, he’s about to die and wants to make your life happy as his last act in life.

£20k, for that car you’ve been wanting?
£200K, for that house?
£2m, for the car, house and pool?
£200m, for all of that and a jet?

How much money would make you happy right now, and what would it be for?
 
Yeah it's hard to put a limit on that? I've been poor my whole life, so even enough to pay off bills and get my own apartment would make me happy. But a few millions would make me extremely happy!
 
mpw said:
How much money would make you happy?

It not a question about whether people should work hard for what they get or whether people who 'have it easy' are less worthy or something. Just imagine some bloke comes up to you in the street and says he's an eccentric billionaire, he’s about to die and wants to make your life happy as his last act in life.

£20k, for that car you’ve been wanting?
£200K, for that house?
£2m, for the car, house and pool?
£200m, for all of that and a jet?

How much money would make you happy right now, and what would it be for?
Click to expand...

well, all of the above might to some extent slake my materialistic thirst

...but none would make me happy

(what is that old obscure phrase? money can't buy... something... uhh.. ahh forget it, I can't remember)
 
$6 billion. I'd give 3 billion of it away over the years to keep people happy and not call me scrooge.

Money can buy happiness... For a short period of time. Unless you don't consider driving around in a new SLR happiness.
 
Seriously,

$300K for new house
$150K to settle all debts, including old house
$200K for kids college
$100K for new vehicles
$10K for maxed out Mac Pro setup with 54" monitor

Shoot, I wouldn't be happy, I'd be ecstatic! With any one of these!
 
Scottyk9 said:
(what is that old obscure phrase? money can't buy... something... uhh.. ahh forget it, I can't remember)
Click to expand...

Love. Money can't buy you love. However, with enough money you can hire someone to pretend they love you!
 
Enough to buy a house or even a flat would be amazing. I wouldn't give up work even if I was rich, so enough to have a nice place owned outright would be spot on, as it would effectively double my salary too. :)

Not sure I'd turn down the 200 million though. ;)
 
I would be happy if I would have enough money to travel whenever I want to and wherever I want to - without thinking about my current job (well student atm, but my mind is set on the future), as well as enough money to get new cool gadgets and computers when I feel like it :)

I believe I would be very happy indeed with this, given ofc I had someone to share it with, rather than packetsharing with my router.
 
I'm happy(ish) now with sod all money!

But with £5million - £10 million I'd be ecstatic!!!
 
Enough to pay off my mortgage. That's all, and it would allow me just enough more "extra" on a monthly basis to save nicely without having to be quite as frugal.

Of course, enough to move somewhere tropical and not worry about working would be nice, too. Speaking of which, I better go get that Mega Millions lottery ticket tonight. :rolleyes: :D
 
I am happy, and despite what people think, money can buy happiness.

I'd say 50 milliom kr. (around $8 million). Enough to live a wealthy life. When you pass a certain limit of finances, you have no "something I can't describe".
 
Having enough money to live without having to worry about the future would make me happy. Right now, that means about 5 grand so I can pay off my credit card bills. Come January, 50 - 60k a year would be amazing- that would be enough to put a downpayment on a house and be able to afford it every month. In a couple years, 100k a year would be awesome- I hope to start a family by then.

I don;t think that's asking too much. I don't want a lot of money- just enough to get by, live comfortably, and be able to buy something nice once in a while.
 
"Price of Entry"

I think it's about $6.5m in Cali right now. "Price of Entry" is the amount of moneys in various funds smartly enough invested so that one can earn a certain amount off of the interest. ~$100k/yr would be nice.
 
God. I really hate money.

I'm making a little less than 50K and living pretty happily. It keeps me in coffee, beer and, once in a while, a fancy meal. Of course the woman makes a heap more than I do. These past two years -- the first time in our lives when we've been working at the same time ... well, we had so little for five years (while we worked our way through grad school), and now we're doing so well ... it's remarkable how much security and comfort money can bring.

I'd love to retire to a lake house and watch the ducks land all day. While surfing MR. And listening to off-kilter talk radio.

Which I guess means I need to start making more money ...
 
mpw said:
....How much money would make you happy right now, and what would it be for?
Click to expand...

if it's money that's going to make you happy, then definitely go for the £200m....it'll cover all of the other options you mention:D
 
I would go for somewhere along the continuum of these four quotes.

”All progress is based upon a universal, innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income.” - Samuel Butler

“Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of its filling a vacuum, it makes one.” - Ben Franklin

”I know of nothing more despicable and pathetic than a man who devotes all the hours of the waking day to the making of money for money's sake.”
John D. Rockefeller

”I am having an out of money experience.” - Author Unknown
 
xsedrinam said:
I would go for somewhere along the continuum of these four quotes.

”All progress is based upon a universal, innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income.” - Samuel Butler

“Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of its filling a vacuum, it makes one.” - Ben Franklin

”I know of nothing more despicable and pathetic than a man who devotes all the hours of the waking day to the making of money for money's sake.”
John D. Rockefeller

”I am having an out of money experience.” - Author Unknown
Click to expand...

Well Quoted. Health, Family and Love are all one really needs, Money is more of a want. WHat was that quote "The love of money is the root of all evil" - I believe that is evident today more than ever...
 
I've often asked myself that question - how much do you really need to live comfortably? I've never been the type to want a huge mansion with 5 sports cars and a jet - that's just not me. The only reason I would want a huge sum of money is actually so I could give a lot of it away and make my friends' and family's lives better as a result. Nothing would give me greater joy than to stroke a check for $100,000 to 20 of my closest friends (or whatever number) and change their lives, or do the same for my family.

And I realize money != happiness, but let's be realistic - in the world we live in, rightly or wrongly, you do need money to survive. That being said, I realize there is so much more to life than money - and in that respect I am honestly very immaterialistic. So, although it might sound ironic or hypocritical, I would make the following statement:

Life is too short to worry about money. Therefore I want enough of it so that I never have to worry about it.

:cool:

And again, I wouldn't spend money on frivilous things even if I had it. But it sure would be nice to say, "I'm going to backpack around the world for three years" and not care about the $50K it would cost me (or whatever it would be) or "I'd like to visit my brother in Vancouver twice a month", not caring about the $500 airline ticket it would cost me each time. I'd like to be able to buy nice things without having to worry about the price tag and always be looking for sales, coupons, etc. Little things like that.

I see money as a means to an end. Whether it's to pay my fees for a year in the city soccer league so I can have fun and exercise with my friends, or to pay for my plane ticket and hostels somewhere far away as I backpack and experience the world, I need money to accomplish these types of things I enjoy. That being said, not everything I enjoy costs money of course. ;) :)

So what's my magic number? I don't know. I'm very good with investing, so a few million would be enough to build on. But let's face it, even a million dollars these days isn't much in terms of the current cost of living and retirement. That's just the cold reality of our society, like it or not. :cool:
 
$10 million.

That will allow you to basically never worry about money again (if you're smart about it, and unless some terrible unforeseen catastrophy happens).

The only difference between $10 million and $100 million is basically the private jet, and those are more trouble than fun usually.

So yes, $10 million would make me *very* happy.
 
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