does money make you happy?

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DOES MONEY MAKE YOU HAPPY?

American society is generally seen as one of productivity, work ethic, and perseverance, which is a far cry from the laid back and relaxed attitude that many mediterranean and other western countries take towards working. There is no denying that Americans are “workaholics” and devote themselves to their jobs in ways that could be described as zealous, passionate, or even greedy in context. Most would say that Americans work hard solely for monetary gain, after all, money is said to be able to buy happiness. Some would say that wealth is something to be sought after because it gives it holders a euphoric feeling. So in theory money is the key to being happy in American society, but as research shows, that might just not be the case. Although money can bring temporary happiness, it cannot sustain long term happiness. One undeniable fact is that people living above the poverty line are generally happier than people living below it, which is understable given the circumstance.

cole starmer

staff writer

As stated by Easterlin’s paradox, the growth of a countries overall wealth does not correlate to the happiness of its citizens above the poverty level. As an impoverished country like Haiti grows in GDP, its people will become happier until it reaches a point above the level of complete poverty. The countries wealth would continue to grow, but the happiness of its people would cap eventually. In context of society, people only become more happy as they grow within the poverty level, but once they exit poverty, they won’t become any happier once they pass the lower class line and grow through the middle class, and into the upper. Therefore, acquiring money only makes you happy to a point. Aside from socio-economic levels, spending money in certain ways is also guaranteed to make the spender happier. Spending money on causes such as a charity, church, or even volunteering organizations can leave a happy feeling in the heart of the spender, but not everyone is at a point in which they can spend money on charities. Of course wealthier people can spend more on such have that luxury, but with the gap between lower and upper class widening, most people don’t have the money to be give lump sums of cash to charity organizations like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos do. The average American just can’t sustain happiness by being extravagantly charitable with money. In the Ted Talk, “How to buy happiness”, Michael Norton explains that spending money on other people lead to happiness but only in small terms. For example, buying a close friend a coffee in the morning can bring happiness because it brings a feeling generosity. Money doesn’t bring happiness and being grossly charitable doesn’t either, but spending money in the right can bring temporary happiness. A common thought in America is that money makes people genuinely happy. It is the oil that runs through the machine that is our government. It supports families, homes, businesses, and livelihoods. There is no doubt that at first glance, money looks like a source of joy, comfort and peace, but in some circumstances that couldn’t be further from the truth. Money itself does not bring happiness as it is a material item. Having nice things can bring temporary happiness, but it doesn’t sustain. People generally look back on trips they went on or experiences had rather than items received. Experiences induce more happiness than gifts as they are more memorable than getting something for yourself. If one makes it their goal to only accumulate more and more money, the time they have left to focus on family and spend with friends is tight at best. After all, life is short and if experiences outweigh money by far, it might be wise to fixate less on currency and more on family. Nobody can deny the fact that money rules the modern world. It has allowed humanity build a society so advanced that perhaps it has outpaced human emotion and decency. People stress themselves beyond reason all to gain more money when there are many ways to be happy without it. Only after maintaining happy relationships with friends and family members, reconnecting with nature, and keeping a healthy lifestyle can one realize that money doesn’t make anybody happy. At most it can buy experiences that can lead to a memory that can be treasured forever, but money in itself cannot bring happiness, and devoting oneself to it can only lead to sadness. Currency can only bring joy if it is spent in the right way, but at the end of the day, it will not complete anyone in itself. Only by being surrounded by positivity and healthy lifestyle choices can bring joy where money can only distract the mind for temporary comfort.