Having enough money to live comfortably, pay all of one's bills, with a nice surplus for saving, discretionary spending and for a few luxuries--that level of affluence is a precondition for happiness.
Money will not buy happiness, but it helps prevent unhappiness. And eliminating unhappiness or limiting its influence upon one is a victory of sorts, being at the half-way spot on the road to happiness.
Having not enough money or being worth billions will make you unhappy. As a member of the noble middle class, you need enough and then your precondition is met. You need to work. You need to play. You need to craft, camp and garden to stay in contact with both the natural and material worlds. You need to be in touch with other people.
All of these steps taken render you prone to being happy. We can be intellectuals. We can do our own thing. We can enjoy hours and hours spent in cyberspace, but these isolating activities disconnect us from a healthy, calming, repeated sets of interactions with plain reality.
Nothing beats getting a job, and getting up and going to to work for pay to make one rather stable and contented. You made your own money. You got off your duff. You ventured out into objective reality. Be happy, for you have well earned the right to be happy.
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