<p>Actually, a principle reason people live in "McMansions" is the fact that taxes will be less if a considerable portion of your money is going to paying for a huge house...</p>
<p>I can't buy things without money. Things make me happy.</p>
<p>Therefore we can use the equation...</p>
<p>amount of money = degree of happiness</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
I can't buy things without money. Things make me happy.</p>
<p>Therefore we can use the equation...</p>
<p>amount of money = degree of happiness </p>
<p>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I guess that's why they say "Money can't buy you love, but love can't buy you s h i t"</p>
<p>Money obviously brings security to the home. I read about a study on married couples. The families that were financially secure also had happier marriages because they weren't constantly stressed and worrying about bills. I can see why people would choose to make money their first priority when it comes to picking careers because it gives people opportunities and also the leisure time to enjoy life in a more carefree way.</p>
<p>I would like to make enough to live in a decent neigborhood, maybe even a rural area where you don't have to deal with wealth competition among neighbors. </p>
<p>Rather than being a doctor or business man, none of which interest me, I hope to become an engineer. The particular field I am pursuing has interested me since I was 13 and doing it for the rest of my life wouldn't be a problem. </p>
<p>Still though, money does play a role. Being an Engineer or a landscape architect, another interest, has huge economic differences.</p>
<p>Without money we'd be killing each other for all the goods in the world.. Money is the tool we use to provide for our own lives.</p>
<p>Personally, I want to make just enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle.</p>
<p>Here's why money doesn't buy happiness for most people: once you have money to get stuff you want, you begin to want more stuff and more money.</p>
<p>That's just human nature.</p>
<p>I, for some reason, become complacent once I reach a certain level; if I was making my 500k a year, I wouldn't have any interest in making 1 million a year, or 10 million a year. </p>
<p>Maybe I paid to much attention in Econ class, but something tells me that there's a point where the extra $ you are making does not make up for the decrease in free time/health. (think marginal return and marginal utility here)</p>
<p>Lastly, I look at potential happiness as a function of money (sort of)... the more money you make, the higher your potential happiness, but there is of course an asymptote where you can never reach full happiness.</p>
<p>In summary: make enough money to be able to enjoy the time with your friends, family, and the things you enjoy doing each day. Put your money to good use, not just insatiable consumption.</p>
<p>So that I can actually fund my extravagant (and vain) lifestyle without going into ridiculous amounts of debt. :D</p>
<p>Actually I think I would be very intersted in making $1MM if I was making $500k, and then $10MM once I was making $1MM. Besides that, I want to own a custom-designed chateau-esque mansion in Greenwich, West Palm Beach, Palm Springs, Aspen, Cape Cod, the coast of Maine, and Phoenix, Greenwich being my main residence. I also want a $35MM Gulfstream V, 3 Audis per house, and a chauffeured Maybach. I want a penthouse condo in London, Paris, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Honolulu, Singapore, Auckland, and San Diego. When I retire I would LOVE to travel the world in my Gulfstream and spend the rest of my life doing philanthropy. I will not rest until Bill Gates is my secretary, Donald Trump my doorman, George Soros my personal financial advisor, and Martha Stewart my personal chef. :)</p>
<p>Money is one of the few things which isn't determined by biology. Skin color, intelligence, height, facial features = bunch of ********. The ability to create value is perhaps the most cruelly accurate way to differentiate yourself in human society.</p>
<p>Maybe I paid to much attention in Econ class, but something tells me that there's a point where the extra $ you are making does not make up for the decrease in free time/health. (think marginal return and marginal utility here)</p>
<p>Hehhehe. Nice thinking....But for example lets consider a budget curve and tangential indifference curve (seeing as we're talking about econ...hehe I love econ.) in theory as I keep increasing my budget my indifference curve will increase algon with it, and with it my utility as well.......</p>
<p>By becoming an econ major, are you more likely to be smart with money and make more of it later on? just wondering</p>
<p>Quite possibly. I'm planning to major finance. :)</p>
<p>I'm starting econ this fall because I'm really dumb when it comes to financial stuff so it was mostly to learn. Then my mom's all WhAt's tHat GoNna GeT you iN LiFe?
I orginally was going to do engineering so I really don't know what econ can do for me.</p>
<p>hehehe, i'll be complete honest. i am hella vain and materialistic. money can make me very, very happy. but while i say that, there is a point where i would stop in my quest to amass large amounts of money. i mean, once i have everything my heart desires (a huge house that rivals the extravagance of the World Exposition in Chicago, Versace as my personal designer, Wolfgang puck as my personal chef, my own private jet, and tons of spoiled little kids-preferably girls) i shall want no longer.</p>
<p>people are fascinated with wealth because it makes them feel special.</p>
<p>also because mostly everyone is materialistic and money can bring ease and comfort, doy. plus I'd want everything that is possible for my children. I want to be affluent partly so I can have more opportunities and choices for my children. Also so I can be more generous and actually give money to the poor without anyone screaming at me.</p>
<p>It's a measure of productivity. It's a measure of happiness.</p>
<p>I want tons of money to be completely selfish and give only to whom I wish.</p>
<p>Money buys icecream.</p>
<p>Money can make you content with living situations. It cannot make you happy in terms of friends and family. I want money so I can give things to my friends... I want to be the guy who tips the waiter 60% just because I am in a good mood and don't care about money -- I like making people's day. I want to be able to provide for a girlfriend/wife. I personally do not need money to be happy -- I want friends and family, but money greases the wheel in terms of keeping life interesting.</p>
<p>^^^I'm with legendofmax... I want money to enhance relationships with family and friends, but in no way is it what I base my happiness on. I would much rather have good health and love than money.</p>
<p>Legendofmax, you're the type of person that doesn't get rich.</p>