[jmagoon]

It's strange to me that people think having or not having money is directly tied to obsessing over money. These are two separate things that aren't actually connected--the number in your bank account and the state of your mind.

You can have $1bn and be totally miserable and miserly, you can have .15 and be generous and happy, and vice versa.

[downandout]

>you can have .15 and be generous and happy

On what planet? You aren't going to be happy begging for food, walking everywhere you go, having no place to shower or sleep, not having clothes, etc. Certainly, each extra dollar gives you less marginal happiness as you move up the net worth scale into the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars. But if you aren't able to meet a certain reasonable minimum standard of living, you will be absolutely miserable.

[BrokenEnso]

"if you aren't able to meet a certain reasonable minimum standard of living, you will be absolutely miserable."

For some people their minimum standard of living dose not require money. Buddhist monks[1] come to mind. There are also people that simply want to live away from society and thus have no real need for money.

[1] http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/layguide.h...

[freshhawk]

I think the discussion was assuming you didn't have someone taking care of your material needs for you, like a monastery or a parent.

[nmcfarl]

I know people who have lived off the grid (or on a boat), without a paying job, happily. It does get wearing, and people don't seem to do it for too long - but that can be years.

(To give some examples of lifestyles that do not require income, nor external people paying for things.)

[freshhawk]

Definitely true. I think the parent was overstating it saying that one would be miserable without money.

But the larger point stands, your state of mind and your access to resources are connected, very strongly at the poverty end. There are definitely people who can be very fulfilled with very few resources (until they get sick or it gets very cold) but they would all be happier with a bunch of money, even if that's just to give away to those in need.

[ethbro]

With the caveat that, in situations of poverty below a certain level requires giving money more consideration.

If you have $100 in the bank on a good day, then your trips to the grocery store play out a lot differently than someone who has even $1,000 in the bank.

[angersock]

When you're starving, the difference between $1bn and .15 is pretty fucking acute. Just sayin'.

[zo1]

I thought he meant 0.15 Billion, not 15c. Or am I missing something?