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Comment by pyrrhotech | Hacker News Reader

I shouldn't speak for everyone. For me personally, I was happyish during my career but I'm definitely much, much happier now that I'm wealthy and retired. And it's not a short term buzz, I've been retired for 2 years and the feeling hasn't worn off. I know it sucks we don't have unlimited resources for everyone in society to be free and 100% happy. Maybe someday we will with full automation.

In the meantime, most people tend to agree with me that at least to a degree more money = more happiness, it's the reason that capitalism works afterall, and it raises the standard of living - or choice of not working - for all of us over time

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>at least to a degree more money = more happiness

Except the research shows marginal “experiential” happiness (as opposed to “reflecting” happiness) occurs much, much lower than your threshold. To this point, both you and the comment you’re responding to could be right (although I’m not sure about their tone that you have a duty to give money away)

The problem with those studies is that they’re based on cashflow. Yes more cashflow doesn’t increase experiential happiness after a point.

But it turns you into a wage slave. Turn off the cashflow and everything collapses.

Wealth gives you happy levels of cashflow regardless of working for it right now. Hence it creates freedom.

You won’t be more happy by having wealth, you’ll be more reliably/resiliently happy.

You're right that they focused on income (not quite the same as cashflow but it's a good point).

What was interesting is that above a certain income, life satisfaction actually began to decrease. I wonder if there is a similar corollary to wealth.

I’m curious, in which ways do you feel that money made you happier? As in, what were the important things it has enabled for you that weren't available under, say, an average engineer's salary?

Not the material aspect of what it can buy - but the freedom to not have to work is where the big boost of happiness came from for me, though I cannot guarantee it would for you if you truly love your career. For me, programming was always just a tool, a job, a means to an end. Sure it's kind of interesting, but there's far more interesting ways to spend my time.

Also, I hate bosses, performance reviews, bullshit non-producing jobs who make up the majority of your tech peers, commutes, forced social small talk with people you don't like, etc. So even if I 100% loved what I did everyday, I wouldn't like all that BS that comes with it.

Now, being able to spend my time as I please with full autonomy - that is where the incredible boost in my happiness has come from

I guess it depends on your job. I have significant control over what I do and at least a decent chunk of it is stuff I would enjoy doing anyway. (Normally) I like to travel and like having a lot of interactions with peers at my own and other companies. Bureaucracy is annoying but not overly so. Not to say I won't retire--I will--but I'm also not in a big hurry and could probably negotiate some incremental time off if that became a big issue.

Agreed, freedom and autonomy to do what I want and like is what really makes me happy and money is simply a means to that end. I'm still just getting started and nowhere near where I want to be so the hustle continues...

Out of curiosity, what do you do with your day now that you're retired?

> most people tend to agree with me that at least to a degree more money = more happiness, it's the reason that capitalism works

What do you think capitalism is exactly? What's your definition that fits the context of that statement?

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