A University of Southern California study found that greater wealth didn't translate into greater happiness for many of the 1,500 people surveyed annually over three decades. USC economist Richard Easterlin said, "Many people are under the illusion that the more money we make, the happier we'll be," but according to the study, that isn't true.

We know from other well-respected studies that fewer Americans are "very happy" today than in the 1950s despite having more money, bigger homes and more stuff. In 1950, there were 3,000 shopping malls in this country. By 2000, there were 45,025, but greater affluence has not translated into greater happiness.

Are there any circumstances under which more money brings happiness? If you are living in poverty, having more money would make a positive difference in your quality of life, and yes, you likely would be happier. But once your basic material needs are met, many experts agree that having more money might be nice but it's not likely to make you a lot happier, if at all.

The problem is that most of us just don't know what we really believe about money. We can't live with it, but we can't live without it. We think that more of it will fix all of our problems, even though we prove month after month that we aren't good at managing what we already have.

A recent gathering of friends stirred up a thought-provoking conversation. One person suggested that we have a confusion of terms. When people say they want happiness, what they're really looking for is contentment -- that feeling of satisfaction that does not go away once the carpet is a few months old, the car has lost its "newness," or the holidays are over. He went on to suggest that happiness is the result of a "happening," and when the event is over, the happiness goes away. The contentment we seek comes with satisfaction and fulfillment that are not tied to specific events but rather based upon things that do not change, such as warm family relationships, connecting to God, and expressions of sincere gratitude.

I think our water cooler philosopher is really onto something. If nothing else, he certainly made all of us think.

So where do you stand on this subject? In your heart, do you believe that more money would make you happier? How much would it take to make you really happy, or have you discovered a source of contentment not tied to money?

I'd love for you to tell us your thoughts on this matter of money, happiness and contentment. Send your brief response along with your first name, last initial and state to mary@everydaycheapskate.com, using the word "happiness" in the subject line. I'll compile them for an upcoming column.

Mary Hunt is the founder of DebtProofLiving.com and author of 17 books, including "Debt-Proof Living." You can e-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. To find out more about Mary Hunt and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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