A Look at Money and Happiness
Are money and happiness related? Does money buy happiness?
It seems very easy for some people to say yes, and even easier
for most to say no. But I think the the truth is not so simple.
The research is interesting and mixed. Actually, the results
of the research mostly agree from one study to another, but the
interpretation of those results is where the arguments start.
For example, one worldwide survey of happiness levels found that
as incomes rose from poverty levels towards the average for that
nation, people reported higher levels of happiness. Beyond a
certain point there was no gain.
This seems like common sense if we believe that worldly conditions
have anything to do with happiness at all. Peace of mind and
some level of happiness that we might call joy has much more
to do with mind or spirituality, but extreme poverty is stressful
to body and brain and of course it can interfere with "worldly"
happiness. It also makes sense that as we meet our true physical
needs money has less ability to raise our level of happiness:
other factors become more important.
Studies like this are commonly touted in the press as "proof"
that money and happiness are unrelated. It may seem that way
to those making more than the average of $50,000 annual household
income in the United States, who apparently see only the part
about no further gains after that income is passed. But what
about the tens of millions of people who are not making that
much? They might be more interested in the first conclusion of
the studies - that it does make a difference when you can pay
the dentist, rent a decent place to live and eat healthy food.
Others have looked at the studies on a country-by-country
basis and decided that since the United States is number forty
or so on the list of happiest nations, that proves no
link to income. Again, though, it's a matter of interpretation
and looking at the whole picture. If we are not as happy as those
living in Bangladesh or Columbia it can certainly be for other
reasons unrelated to money. The more important statistics here
are the ones that show those Colombians and Bangladeshies who
make a bit of money are even happier than those in poverty.
Imagine if we studied whether vegetables were good for people
by comparing healthy people who ate few vegetables to obese cancer
patients who ate many more. It would appear that vegetables were
bad for people! The proper comparison would be cancer patients
who ate many veggies with cancer patients who didn't, or a broad
cross section of people to rule out other factors. Looked at
properly we find that vegetables are conducive to health.
Now, obviously there is no way that money can directly buy
happiness. But it seems clear that it can buy the conditions
conducive to a happier life.Take two groups of poor people, where
one group is happier than the other on average. Give the unhappy
group more income and they may still be less happy than the others,
but measured against themselves they are likely to find that
money helped a bit.
Money and Happiness - Part Two
Although this will confuse the issue a bit, I think it is
worth adding that money can buy unhappiness. It is all about
how it is gained and how it is used. Certainly we can see that
the pursuit of money for its own sake or for the sake of some
dream that a person imagines will bring happiness can backfire.
How happy can you be chasing after money in ways that destroy
your true values or at least bring more stress into your life?
More than that, just coming into money can be disastrous for
those who don't have the wisdom to use it properly. I personally
know people who have suffered from sudden "windfall profits."
One friend received eight thousand dollars in cash one day years
ago. That should improve the life of a person normally making
only twice that annually. But it doesn't work that way when it
is used to get rent-to-own furniture and to make a down payment
on a new car. Suddenly the money was gone and the debt and resulting
stresses were greater than ever.
There are two important points here then:
1. To the extent that there is anything we can call happiness
based on circumstances outside our own minds or souls, money
obviously can help.
2. The degree to which money and happiness are related depends
on how money is used.
The latter point is one for another page or article. It seems
that perhaps with wiser use the happiness level might go further
up the income ladder, that we might get happier all the way up
to say $100,000 annual income. On the other hand, with wisdom
perhaps the level of income becomes even less relevant to happiness.
We may find what we need without so much money, after all.
Finally, there is one more thing worth noting here. When we
ask about money and happiness we assume that the question is
about how happy the owner of the wealth is. But consider for
a moment the billions that people like Bill gates and others
use to fight disease and poverty and illiteracy around the world
through their foundations. Again, if medical care and healthy
food and freedom from ignorance can bring any little bit of happiness,
money is the means in those cases.
Other Relevant Pages:
Think Money Can't
Buy Happiness?
Money and Happiness
Quotes
What Does Financial Freedom
Mean?
What is the Purpose of Money?
A Look at Money and Happiness
Money Ideas and Beliefs
The Meaning Of
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