Some of the coments on wealth got me to thinking about an article that I read the other day. I would like your opinions on it. It is written by John Silveira and called "Money can buy happiness". It is in a website at http://www.backwoodshome.com/

It is my second favorite website after this one!

-- buffy (buffyannjones@hotmail.com), November 25, 2001

Answers

This is kinda funny. I was going to make a comment just from the title of your post, but my comment turned out to be the last sentence of that article! -LOL- "People who say you can't buy happiness just don't know where to shop."

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), November 25, 2001.

Hello Buffy, Meli and I read the article and both of us were upset that a magazine with the type of following that BWH has would dare to say that money buys happiness. John Silveria and Dave Duffy in my opinion are two men with much insight and have proved it time and time again over the last ten years of their magazine. However, I have seen a humble magazine that writes about homesteading, sometimes with hardly enough writers to make an entire issue....turn into a very opinionated and bias political soapbox.

I think that since John and Dave are making "good" money now, that their views on simplicity have changed. Not withstanding, is Dave's comments on being unable to find "self reliant" people on his visit to the New England area last year. When writers questioned his remark, he simply replied, that he was being fastitious. But, fastitious or not his remark and his views are not always going to be for the people who believe in simplicity.

As for my opinion of the article....I thought it was very inappropiate for BWH. It really did not fit into any of their previous formats. Hopefully, with the support of his subscribers they will be more careful about some of the things they say.

Sincerely,

Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), November 25, 2001.

I have never wanted a lot of money and large home. I have always just wanted to get by. I do not believe money can buy happiness. I've seen too many people with a lot of wealth and they are miserable. my happiness comes in my faith, my family, good friends, a small country home, and the pleasure of a full cupboard of home canned goods. What more could I ask for. Of course I have never been rich so I have nothing to compare to but, I am content with my life and wouldn't want to change it. I look back on my present life and find I am much better off than my parents where. As a child growing up we where poor but all around us where poor. But, we had a lot of love and happiness. Times would be real hard but I never went to bed hungry I might have worn hand-me-down clothes but was thankful for them. My parents did without a lot to care for us and I remember the happiest time was when I was working and bought my mother a new coat for Christmas. She hadn't had one for years and wouldn't buy one if she thought one of her children needed a coat more. Happiness comes in your outlook of life not how much you have. Yes, I was happy to have the money for the coat but I bought it on layaway for months to get it for Christmas for her. Which made the purchase all the more special to her and me. Renie

-- Irene Burt (renienorm@aol.com), November 25, 2001.

Irene, you aren't by chance, um, er, well, you know, how shall I say it, available, are you??

-- bruce (rural@inebraska.com), November 25, 2001.

Only if it's chocolate!

-- Jason in S. Tenn. (AJAMA5@netscape.net), November 25, 2001.

I found the article interesting and, based on my experiences, pretty accurate. I found it interesting that a lot of things I'd thought and believed about wealth and lifespan, etc., actually had statistical basis. I'd think stress from constant worry about anything (including, but certainly not limited to finances) would tend to shorten one's life. I know I may get some flak over this, but I still don't think making money and living a frugal lifestyle need to be mutually exclusive.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), November 25, 2001.

I think what John is saying is that money can buy comfort. It is hard to be happy when you don't know where your next meal is comming from, or if it will. As someone who has been rich(really rich) and Poor (seriously poor as in homeless)believe me, rich IS more fun! The rich should not look down on the poor anymore than the poor as lazy any more than the poor should think the rich are "less spiritual" because of thier "love or money". It is easier to be happy if you have money.

-- buffy (buffyannjones@hotmail.com), November 25, 2001.

Or to put Buffy's sentiments a bit more jocularly:

Well, it sure can make misery a lot more comfortable.

Neither having money nor not having it, having intelligence or not having it, having much experience or having little, are enough by themselves to ensure - or even make probable - happiness.

Having a goal and being able to work toward it, having an articulated philosophy - or religion, if you are religious - and be able to direct one's life toward fulfilling it, are far more necessary - and sufficient - ways to experience long term, deep happiness. And yes, with those second-mentioned features as part of one's life, the first-mentioned attributes certainly can help.

-- Audie (paxtours@alaska.net), November 25, 2001.

I firmly believe that the more money you have...the more money you'll spend. So, thus begins an endless cycle. You'll never be happy 'cause you'll never have enough money!!

-- Marcia (HrMr@webtv.net), November 25, 2001.

Those with money just have different problems, like how to keep from losing it in lawsuits. Poor people don't get sued because there is nothing to go after--the rich can protect their money through corporations and such--and the middle class gets sued because they have enough to be worth going after, but not enough to protect what they have.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), November 25, 2001.

It may not buy happiness but it will sure make a good downpayment.

Russ

-- (rwhitworth@sprint.ca), November 26, 2001.

Marcia, if you can spend all your money then you are not rich but merely have a little extra money. Once you attain a certain level of fortune then you simply can't spend it all, unless you are totally silly; if that is the case you are doomed to be poor anyway. The only real problem and it is not one really is that when you've got a lot of money you tend to throw money at problems rather than work them out. But still that is a nice situation to be in.

-- Ed (smikula@bellsouth.net), November 26, 2001.

I have been on both ends of the spectrum. When I was a child, my parents were very well off (music and dance lessons for me, Florida vacations every winter for the entire family, a summer home with private beach, etc. you get the picture). When I moved out on my own almost 35 years ago, I unfortunately did not have a college degree. From that time on, I worked in jobs that paid not much over minimum wage, macaroni and cheese were frequent dinners. Do I bemoan my lost childhood advantages? No, it does no good.

I feel I have perservered. I now own my country home on a few acres of land. I am working towards self sufficiency. In this day and time, it is a necessity to have a certain amount of money if you wish to live comfortably -- work for it, plan for it and live reasonbly. I garden and cook from scratch. I hope to have chickens, rabbits and goats. I will put in a fish pond and have fish. I am 50 years old and still planning for the future.

Never give up, work with what you have and plan for tomorrow. Be happy with what you have now, but continue to try to improve your conditions. Money does make things more comfortable, but you must be realistic with what you can expect to have financially in your life and work with it. It WILL cause you stress, ill health and unhappiness if you beat your head against the wall and try to keep up woth the Jones'.

The old New England axiom is "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." Be creative, use your imagination.

Try to be happy with the hand life has dealt to you.

MissJudi

-- MissJudi (jselig@clemson.edu), November 26, 2001.

I realy don't think that money buys happyness at all. My husband and I have lost are farm and both been in and out of the hospital. Dealing with constant laieoffs. We have had to move 4 times in the last 3 months. That is very hard when your pregnate to!Now we are liveing with my mom. But know matter what happens we are always there for each other and happy in love.

-- Kim Mills (kim_mills7@hotmail.com), November 26, 2001.

I do not agree with Silveira: being "rich" (with money) is an illusion.

I humbly suggest that "enough" is both real and attainable for most people. Unlimited desires require unlimited income (hence we spend our lives pursuing money). Deep satisfaction, however, becomes elusive--because where desires are unlimited there can never, by definition, be enough. Define enough, however, and a clear picture of what satisfaction is (and when it can occur) emerges.

To those interested in getting to 'enough'I suggest the excellent book Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin.

-- Emily Jane (emilyjanejenkins@hotmail.com), November 27, 2001.

Contentment buys happiness! Be content with what you have and then you will be happy. Why is this so basic and yet so hard? It would be harder if your belly wasn't full and you were cold. Most of us don't have that worry. All of the things that we really want in life are free: Peace, Joy, Love, Patience, Mercy, Kindness, Goodness, Forgiveness, Friendship, A Pleasant Smile, a Nice pat on the back! Of course I suppose they are not completely free, you have to give them first before you get them back....

Sorry...just me being all philosophical on this lovely snowy day!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), November 28, 2001.

Well, I guess I'm one of them rich types some of you are knockin'. And I don't like it ! Just because I own TWO pairs of bib overalls ( beater pair for work...gooduns for dress )... Just because I got a new exhaust system on my 1989 Ford with 186000 mi on it....and it's all paid for...Just because when my socks get holes in 'em I kin throw 'em away and get new ones.....w-e-l-l-l phooey on yuz....I GOT MINE !!! and I'ma gonna strut all I want !!!

-- Charlie (kneedrop@triwest.net), April 21, 2002.