[Karawebnetwork]

Money gave me stability.

Stability allowed me to have time for introspection.

Introspection allowed me to target issues in my life.

Fixing those issues is lowering my discomfort in life.

Money won't fix anything for you but it will provide you an environment where you can.

[apohn]

>Money gave me stability.

The lows are very different when you have money and when you don't have money.

When you are struggling financially and a single event (e.g. car breaking down) can spiral into wrecking your entire life, you it's hard to "let go" of that.

When you are financially stable there are a lot of frustrations (e.g. work stress) you can learn to cope with, control, or let go of.

[dazc]

So very true. One time my car was damaged while parked outside my home, the culprit did a lot of damage and just drove away. Although the repairs were covered by insurance I still had to find £250 for the excess before I could get the car back. It wiped me out and set me on a spiral of debt and depression.

If the same thing happened today I could just shrug it off and carry on regardless.

I am not rich now but I have spare cash and this makes an immeasurable positive difference in ways one cannot conceive without the benefit of an alternative experience.

[BrandonMarc]

I always liked how Dave Ramsey explained it.

* If you're broke and the car breaks down, it's both a car crisis and an extra financial crisis (need money to fix the car).

* If you have enough money saved and the car breaks down, it's merely a car crisis ... and, given that you're capable of fixing the car, it's less of a crisis, at that.

The whole dynamic changes.

[magduf]

Even better is if you live in a place where you don't need a car, and can happily take public transit to get to work because the local government invested in subways. Then you don't have to worry about your car breaking down and ruining your day or worse.

[Raphmedia]

This makes more sense for small countries.

For example, I live in Canada and unless you life in the capital of the province everything is really far away.

A lot of people live in cheap apartment blocks of rural areas and it can be a walk of pretty much an hour to get to the groceries store. There is public transit but it's usually every few hours instead of a constant traffic, so you have to plan your entire day around it.

I do agree with your main point that public transit should be one of the main investment of a country.

[magduf]

Most people in the Americas live in cities, and that number is constantly increasing with urbanization. With proper urban planning and funding, public transit in the US/Canada could be far better than it is, and a useful way of getting around. But there seems to be no political will to do this. Cities in Europe are far better laid out and planned, with mixed-use development (shops on the ground floor, apartments on top), but North America seems to be allergic to this and wants subdivisions with McMansions instead.

[maxxxxx]

Very true. In the end it comes down to feeling safe. I can handle a lot of problems easily if I know that I won't end up on the street.

When I was unemployed for a while even the smallest problem was all-consuming because I had to worry about losing my last money and everything else.

[anyseguy]

Your life is literally made up of the things you pay attention to. If those are happy things, you will probably be more happy than not, and vice-versa. Money gives you a choice about what to pay attention to. If you are in a survival or starvation situation, you will be forced to pay attention to surviving / eating. Not having a choice about what you can pay attention to means your life is defined by outside forces. If these align with what you like, you can be happy in those situations; but if not, you will struggle.

[Raphmedia]

> If you are in a survival or starvation situation, you will be forced to pay attention to surviving / eating. Not having a choice about what you can pay attention to means your life is defined by outside forces.

Well said. This describes my experiences really well.

[technobabble]

"Having money isn't everything. Not having money is everything"

- I forgot who first said this.

[nicwolff]

First, I don't know, but most quotably: Kanye West https://genius.com/945345

[chasd00]

money won't make you happy but it's more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes.

[toasterlovin]

"Necessary but not sufficient" is the phrase, I believe.

[thegabez]

Agreed. The need for introspection will happen many times over in the course of a lifetime. Saving in anticipation for these transitional periods should be a top priority.

[bluedino]

You can also use your money to sit at the pub drinking all day, which will likely affect your life negatively.

[pastor_elm]

Wealth creates discomforts and tells you that you need wealth to alleviate them. Don't buy into it the hype too much.

[Karawebnetwork]

I'm talking about moving up from below the of poverty line.

[emteycz]

What discomfort does wealth create? It enables you to make yourself uncomfortable, yes, but wealth itself will not make you uncomfortable.

[pastor_elm]

wealth creates a system in which you need to have money to survive.

[Raphmedia]

Yes but we are already in said system.

When I was a kid we had no access to a car, quality food or enough money for over the counter medication (acne, mild infections, etc.). Luckily we live in Canada where we can get prescribed medication for free, so none of us died of dangerous infections or anything like that.

We only managed to grow healthy and avoid criminality because our mother is a saint of a woman who sacrificed her adult life to give us a chance for something better.

I really doubt the lack of wealth gave us any comfort and that gaining wealth created any discomfort.

[TomMarius]

Do you have any viable alternative?

[eeZah7Ux]

Yes: free healthcare, unemployment checks, public housing like in various countries in Europe.

So that people can go to work out of personal choice and not out of desperation.

[emteycz]

I sincerely have no idea how this answers the question. I think you either misunderstood me and the whole thread or have accidentally replied to someone else. I'm European, we have wealth here as well.

Or maybe I am the one misunderstanding, in which case - you can be sure I am a supporter of social safety net.

However as someone experienced not only with the excellent public healthcare system in the north of Europe or in Germany, but with the more average ones in the union as well, IMO you should look at Switzerland more than at the EU. You talk of the EU system as if it is awesome everywhere - it's not. Answer for yourself - are your local governments as efficient, robust and not corrupt as the German is?