[roncesvalles]

Hah exactly. I've noticed that people who say "money doesn't matter" either come from a childhood of privilege and have no real concept of value, have earned and spent enough of it to lose sense of its value, or have subconsciously de-valued money as a defense mechanism to cope with the anxiety of not having it.

That's not to say that one should work in oppressive conditions or make other people suffer for a little more money; there is nuance. But, seriously. You can't pretend that money doesn't matter.

[mountainriver]

Of course it matters but to a point, I would rather feel happy with the short life I live than miserable so I can buy a fancy car

[roncesvalles]

>so I can buy a fancy car

You're assuming that everyone's goal in life is to be happy as defined by material comfort or hedonism but that's just not the case. There are many non-hedonistic things that are enabled by having money (philanthropy and venture capitalism of various forms, freedom of various forms, sense of security, etc.)

For such people, because hedonistic happiness is a worthless commodity, trading it for money, and by extension all the non-hedonistic things that money can buy, is a very favorable transaction.

It's easy to see why earning more money by sacrificing comfort doesn't make sense to someone who considers happiness as their goal in life -- it's a longer route to reach the same point.