Money Can’t Buy Happiness: Is It True Or It Is Just A Lie To Keep You Broke?
BY DEORAO K.
If you search in google search you will get a ton of articles to explain why and how money can’t buy happiness. And several articles explaining how money can make you happy.
Have you ever wondered, does money really buys happiness or not? And if money doesn’t buy happiness why everyone is after it? The answer must be yes. Everyone does that and nothing is wrong with this.
I was also one of you who confirmed that money doesn’t buy happiness but still wanted to earn as much as possible. This motivated me to research on this further. Here is what I have noticed.
Excited? Continue reading…
Table of Contents
DOES MONEY REALLY MAKE US UNHAPPY?
Every time I heard this question I remember the story of Chris Gardener from the movie “The Pursuit Of Happiness”. Chris is broke and struggling to earn money, his wife leaves him because he is poor, his house owner asks him to evacuate the apartment, he and his son have to sleep in random places like motels, charity places, and in public toilets. All because he has no money. During this whole story, I watched his face and he was not at all happy.
One study conducted on factors that influence happiness by Ed Diener found out that people who make are money are happier than those of poor counterparts.
Also, another research conducted by Robert Kenny who is developmental psychologist and senior advisor at Boston College. They interviewed the people with total worth equal to or more than $25 million and most of the people admit that they are happy and feel fortunate for having so much money. Though they have their own concern and downsides.
As per Sarah Gervais associate professor in psychology, social and cognitive program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, money can buy you things that will make you happy for sure. But his has a limit for example in the US if Until your income reaches $75,000 per year. Money can buy happiness, once you crossed this limit it doesn’t influence your emotions maybe because it doesn’t matter after that.
This means when your income rises from $ 10,000 to $30,000 it will certainly make you happy because with this money you can you off your debt, buy yourself a place to live and end your misery, and many more things.
But if your income rises from $ 80,000 to $100,000 your emotion may not change and the graph of happiness plateaus because $75,000 is the minimum amount of money per year you need to live the standard life than the average American. After this limit, you stay happy if you are already or you stay unhappy if you are already.
The same can be applicable for all the countries with different thresholds of yearly income.
Happiness is an emotion that largely derives from a mindset. And very little by things like money. For example, research suggests that any emotions are mostly dependent on genes 50%, parenting and mentality 30% – 40%, and surrounding 10 – 20%.
So money can make you happy when used judiciously and not get overwhelmed by it.
WHAT MADE PEOPLE THINK THAT MONEY CAN’T BUY HAPPINESS?
There are tons of people out there who say money can’t buy happiness or money made them unhappy in life. Did they try to find out it is money or something else making them unhappy?
Isn’t it possible? If you are curious here are seven reasons that are making you unhappy and not money,
1.YOU EQUATE HAPPINESS WITH MONEY.
You assume that when you will become rich you will be happy but it may not be true if you don’t how to deal with the money you got and how to use it for your need. You feel cheated and feel unhappy.
You equate money directly to your happiness. But the reality is money is a tool that can buy you things that may make you happy.
2.MONEY CAN’T BUY HAPPINESS BECAUSE HAPPINESS IS A MINDSET.
As we have seen earlier happiness and unhappiness largely govern by mindset.
If you are unhappy from the inside nothing can make you happy. This means if you are not happy with ten bucks in your pocket you will not be happy with one hundred bucks in your pocket.
So Your mindset is making you unhappy not money.
3.COMPARISON OF YOUR MONEY HOLDING WITH OTHERS.
Comparison of money you have with money of others is making you unhappy.
This comparison will make you feel like a loser. You feel defeated and unhappy. You keep thinking that the other person is lucky to have so much money while you have so little than him.
Then you will assume that you will become happy if you get as much money as him. But when you reach that level he already reaches to a higher level so you again start feeling like a loser and unhappy.
This is a blind and raw comparison because you don’t how much effort he has taken to reach to this level while you did nothing to earn more.
Comparison is a self destructive habit and eventually, you end up feeling unhappy and depressed.
Off course money is involved here but it is comparison making you unhappy and not money.
4.GREED OF MONEY MAKES YOU UNHAPPY.
Extreme greed for money makes a person desperate to hoard money. Greedy people are more likely to feel unhappy. They are competitive and unfaithful toward people around them and often use others to get rich.
But because of this behavior, they end up losing loved ones.
5.YOU ARE UNHAPPY BECAUSE YOU LEFT FRIENDS AND FAMILY FOR MONEY.
Some people leave their near and dear ones behind in the hoard of earning money. When they reach the top they have a lot of money but no friends and family to celebrate the richness. Research suggests that those with good social contacts live a happier life and vice versa.
This is why they feel lonely and unhappy instead of having a lot of money.
6. YOU ARE MATERIALISTIC.
Materialistic people are more likely to feel unhappy. They are obsessive about money, they don’t value relations and social morals if it comes between money and them.
They are all about possessing brands, lavishes, and hoarding money.
7. NEGATIVE ATTITUDE.
Some people have a negative attitude. They just feel like nothing can make them happy. They attract negative people and radiate more negativity to other people.
These people make a loose assumption from other people’s experiences and spread the word that money can’t buy happiness.
You might also like to read,
THINGS THAT ONLY MONEY CAN BUY WHICH MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY.
You might think that money can’t buy life, love, and love ones but nothing in this world can buy this once lost.
Here are things that only money can buy which will make you happy,
1.MONEY GIVES YOU OPTIONS AND FREEDOM TO CHOOSE.
Money gives you the freedom to choose between multiple options. For example, If you have the money you have the choice to choose between going on vacation to Hawaii or to the Bahamas. If you have the money you have a choice whether you will send your children to elite colleges or to average college.
But if you are poor you don’t have an option but settle for less. The money you have will decide the choices you will get in every situation in life. I have not seen a single unhappy person who has the freedom to choose from multiple options.
So next time when you will hear money can’t buy happiness remember this thing.
2.MONEY CAN PROVIDE FINANCIAL SECURITY.
Money provides financial security to your family. If you are a man by evolutionary instinct providing security becomes your priority. If you are able to provide financial security to your family, nothing makes a man happier than this.
Successful and earnig men are found to be happier than not earning men.
With money, you can give your family a high standard of living, for example, a good house to live in, enough food and clothes, treatment in high-end hospitals, education of children in elite school colleges.
Without money, your and your family’s life will be miserable. You will struggle to make ends meet. You will have no options to live underprivileged like Chris. Now you decide whether money can’t buy happiness or it does.
3.MONEY CAN BUY YOU A HIGH SOCIAL STATUS.
Rich people have high status in society. Everyone knows them personally, people want to talk to them, hang out with them, People value their opinion and suggestions.
On the other hand, if you are poor people will avoid you, they no longer want to befriend you, they won’t listen to you.
Having high social status is definitely makes us happy.
4.MONEY PROVIDES YOU STANDARD OF LIFE.
As we have seen earlier, money will provide you high life standard.
5.WITH MONEY YOU CAN BUY MEANS OF EASE.
There is a saying, “Money can’t buy happiness but no money can buy you nothing”.
With money, you can buy things that will make your life easy and cozy. Such as you can buy a large and spacious penthouse in the heart of the city, you can buy a high-end car, you can buy helping hands for your work. With money, you can go on vacation wherever you want.
Just think about it and then decide money buys happiness or not.
6.WITH MONEY YOU CAN HELP OTHERS.
If you have the money you can help poor and homeless people. You can help your friends your relatives if they are in financial crunches.
You can donate money for good causes like helping children in orphanages, people in old age homes, Physically challenged people.
Whenever I get the chance to help others I feel extremely happy, satisfied, and at peace. And I am sure it is true for you also.
7.WITH MONEY YOU CAN BUY TIME.
With money, you can buy time for yourself. With this statement, I don’t mean you can control the time with money no one can do that.
But if you have the money you can recruit people to work for you. So you don’t have to work round the clock.
These people will work for you and you can use this time for other things or give time to family and friends. Or work on other projects or take a leave for some days without hesitation.
If you don’t have the money you have to work all by yourself for 24 by 7 by 365 days. It became hard to give time to family; you don’t get time to hang out with friends. You don’t get time to multitask.
So, having enough time in the hand while everything is taken care of by your people gives a good feeling, Isn’t it?
CONCLUSION
From all the above explanations we can reach to conclusion that with certain limitations money can buy you happiness.
Those who think that money can’t buy happiness must be unhappy because of other bad experiences that happened with them or their loved ones may or may not be related to money. They have to check for this.
Do you agree with me? Yes, or No let me know…
Multiple reserches shows that money can buy happiess.
Reserch suggest that poverty and low income give you stress and emotional pain while with high income you don’t have to worry about many things. Though after certain threshold money don’t infulence much on your emotions. e.g. In United States this threshold is $75,000 per year. Different countries have different theresholds.
Also, another research conducted by Robert Kenny who is developmental psychologist and senior advisor at Boston College. They interviewed the people with total worth equal to or more than $25 million and most of the people admit that they are happy and feel fortunate for having so much money.
