Buying Happiness

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know what would make me happier?

Someone to come and tidy up: find a place for everything, declutter, and help us keep a tidy routine. I can do the cleaning, it's mindless. But sorting and organizing 4 adults/teens in a 1200 sq ft house, all of whom have some degree of ADHD? No.

You can hire for this. It’s a housekeeper, a professional organizer or a house manager.

[Anonymous]

Regular therapy, healthy prepared food and meal kits, outsourcing cleaning, and being able to afford taking a job that is less demanding of my time so I can spend more of it with my family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best private schools in DC. Looking back over the past 20 years, that’s the single largest happiness-over-time expenditure. The gift to my family that keeps regenerating satisfaction, both in the moment and in retrospect

What a stupid response

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best private schools in DC. Looking back over the past 20 years, that’s the single largest happiness-over-time expenditure. The gift to my family that keeps regenerating satisfaction, both in the moment and in retrospect

Cut me a break. This is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cleaning service and similar outsourcing is high on my list. Paying to skip drudgery goes a long way.

There is some actual research showing this to be true. People who spend discretionary income on services that replace unpaid personal labor report higher levels of happiness and satisfaction with life than those who spend the same amounts of discretionary income on material goods.

[Anonymous]

I’m really not happier with more money. Have been poor and been rich, and money doesn’t buy happiness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Easing daily life and removing stress is the top on my list:
- cleaning service
- grocery shopping at whole foods only and not have to do more supermarkets to find the right deal
- getting groceries delivered if for some reason day was too crazy
- not hesitating about taking a cab if i am running later
- not paniciking if something is lost, broken, a flight is missed
etc...
All those things can be small but they add up to the ability to buy peace of mind.

Obviously all the other key investments are part of what buys happiness: 401k; 529; a mortgage we can afford. Financial security is big on my happiness map.

Now, i now you meant something else. But that only comes much far down. So here is the list of purchases that brought me happiness over the past 3 years, that i have only considered since my income went up:
- vacation with family in a more exotic place and nicer house rental
- a tonal. Love my tonal
- cosmetic investments: laser for hair removal and to improve my skin

oh and being able to say yes to all the interesting activities and services my kids want or need. We never go crazy because we dont like flashy. But it is nice to be able to say yes to music lessons, horse riding, favorite summer camps, the right reading or math tutor etc...

+1
All these things and previous, minus botox and laser. And we have a ski home in Vail that's been awesome!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m really not happier with more money. Have been poor and been rich, and money doesn’t buy happiness.

Clearly you do rich wrong then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best private schools in DC. Looking back over the past 20 years, that’s the single largest happiness-over-time expenditure. The gift to my family that keeps regenerating satisfaction, both in the moment and in retrospect

+1
Plus many other things here too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m really not happier with more money. Have been poor and been rich, and money doesn’t buy happiness.

Clearly you do rich wrong then.

1+ and I see this all the time—WASPs dedicated with austerity can’t let themselves enjoy anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cleaning service and similar outsourcing is high on my list. Paying to skip drudgery goes a long way.

There is some actual research showing this to be true. People who spend discretionary income on services that replace unpaid personal labor report higher levels of happiness and satisfaction with life than those who spend the same amounts of discretionary income on material goods.

Makes sense. I’d even say it’s more about paying to avoid UNhappiness. Money can’t make you happy but it can trim off the misery. It’s up to you what you do with what’s left.

[Anonymous]

After 20 years in our house, we finally went all in on a kitchen renovation, professional landscaping including a patio and water feature, and landscaping service. The sense of beauty and calm that I get arriving home from work is like a huge weight lifting off my shoulders. I know it seems silly and trite, but listening to the bubbling water through an open kitchen window while cooking dinner in a space I designed with my favorite colors and preferred layout makes the daily grind so much more pleasant.

[Anonymous]

I spend it on regular massages, travel, house cleaners, and a house in the mountains. It took 5 years for them to run broadband to our road out there so we would just enjoy time doing puzzles and watching DVDs.

I was happy during the shut down when I didn't have travel, cleaners or massages (though goodness we were thankful for our mountain house then, which thankfully had internet by then), so it's not like these things BUY happiness, but they do reduce your stress load so you can enjoy what truly makes you happy more . . . time with loved ones.

[Anonymous]

1. Babysitters and date night! Or nights out with friends are even better but harder to coordinate.

2. Weekend cabins with friends 2-3x per year

3. One or two nice family vacations per year. We're not first class flyers or luxury resort types, but being able to go to cool locations and get a rental house with a great great view, for example, and splurge on a couple cook acitvities while we're there.

These are literally the three biggest sources of happiness in my life, so I throw a lot of my disposable income at them. I'm cheap in every other way lol.

[Anonymous]

It’s funny that all the rich people need therapy. I guess money doesn’t buy happiness