Does Money Buy Happiness?

Interesting question.   I came across the following article and I believe it to be pretty much right on.  In essence, it says money DOESN'T buy happiness.  However, read it, then seem my comments at the end and see if I'm very far off in my conclusion.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-nature/emotions/happiness/being-happy/can-money-buy-happiness.htm

According to a popular credit card company, there are some things money can't buy. The Beatles would put love on that list. Other people might add intelligence or talent. But surely happiness could be had for a cool one or two million dollars. After all, what person doesn't feel a surge of positive emotions upon finding a $20 bill on the sidewalk or at the thought of winning the lottery? If only you had a bit of extra cash to throw around, you could quit your job, buy an island in the Caymans and relax on the beach for the rest of your days.
But psychologists and economists who have studied the relationship between money and happiness paint a different picture. According to them, you'd likely grow tired of your cabana in a matter of years. You see, people have an astonishing ability to adapt to all sorts of situations, and while that can be a good thing if you get locked out of your house during a drenching rain, it also means you'd quickly grow accustomed to a life of affluence. A shiny red Jag and new house in the Hamptons would be great for a while, but after a few days or weeks, their newness would wear off, and you'd go in search of the next best thing. Even surveys of lottery winners indicate that their initial joy at hitting the jackpot wears off in just a few months [source: Brooks].

The one place that money and happiness are significantly linked is when a person is unable to afford to meet their basic needs. There is an appreciable difference in levels of happiness between those below the poverty level and those above it. Homeless people in Calcutta, for instance, score a mere 2.9 on a 7-point scale of happiness, while multimillionaires in the United States rank themselves a cheery 5.8. Once people pass that poverty threshold, though, the money boost tapers off; Inuits in Greenland and Masai ranchers living in Kenyan dung huts are just as happy as the high-society Americans [source: Begley]. So while the Warren Buffetts of the world are indeed more content than beggars on the street, they're not a whole lot happier than people who herd cattle for a living.
Such data may leave all you lottery-playing hopefuls out there feeling rather dejected. But don't lose heart just yet -- there are more effective paths to happiness than hitting the jackpot. For starters, you may want to rethink quitting that job of yours.

First thing I noticed, is the huge discrepancy from the people who just get by or at the poverty level of 2.9 out of 7 compared to 5.8 out of 7 for affluent.  The sampling groups and information are so far off that it makes no sense to me.

They speak of the Inuits in Greenland and the Masai in Kenya as being just as happy as the affluent in the United States.  I believe that whole heartedly.

Lets take a look at that from a different angle.  Perhaps in our day to day life.  In the United States we are constantly bombarded by items that we want as opposed to items that we need.  The news, internet, and magazines always remind us of the things that are available but we simply can't afford.  When people live in a society that is not based on consumption and vanity to the extent the US is, it would be much simpler to feel like "I have it all." 

It is the concept of you don't know what you don't know.  I can tell you, we have been fortunate to have a lifestyle where money wasn't an issue for us.  During that time, the stress levels were nonexistent and I would say that lack of stress would be a high determining factor as it relates to happiness.

Without money, our choices are limited, our world begins to shrink, and we live with what we have.  Both are fine, as we have talked about, and in my opinion, if money can create options in your life that would enhance your current ability to enjoy your life, then to me, happiness could go up.

For people who do not desire anything different by choice, it would be very feasible to see a similar level of happiness to someone who has the options that money can bring.  At the end of the day, as with everything, it boils down to choosing to be happy with what we have, or not.