money can't buy happiness thesis

Happiness Economics: Can Money Buy Happiness?

It only costs a small amount, a slight risk, with the possibility of a substantial reward.

But will it make you happy? Will it give you long-lasting happiness?

Undoubtedly, there will be a temporary peak in happiness, but will all your troubles finally fade away?

That is what we will investigate today. We explore the economics of happiness and whether money can buy happiness. In this post, we will start by broadly exploring the topic and then look at theories and substantive research findings. We’ll even have a look at previous lottery winners.

For interested readers, we will list interesting books and podcasts for further enjoyment and share a few of our own happiness resources.

Ka-ching: Let’s get rolling!

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Happiness & Subjective Wellbeing Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients identify sources of authentic happiness and strategies to boost wellbeing.

This Article Contains

What is happiness economics, theory of the economics of happiness, can money buy happiness 5 research findings, 6 fascinating books and podcasts on the topic, resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

Happiness economics is a field of economics that recognizes happiness and wellbeing as important outcome measures, alongside measures typically used, such as employment, education, and health care.

Economics emphasizes how specific economic/financial characteristics affect our wellbeing (Easterlin, 2004).

For example, does employment result in better health and longer lifespan, among other metrics? Do people in wealthier countries have access to better education and longer life spans?

In the last few decades, there has been a shift in economics, where researchers have recognized the importance of the subjective rating of happiness as a valuable and desirable outcome that is significantly correlated with other important outcomes, such as health (Steptoe, 2019) and productivity (DiMaria et al., 2020).

Broadly, happiness is a psychological state of being, typically researched and defined using psychological methods. We often measure it using self-report measures rather than objective measures that are less vulnerable to misinterpretation and error.

Including happiness in economics has opened up an entirely new avenue of research to explore the relationship between happiness and money.

Andrew Clark (2018) illustrates the variability in the term happiness economics with the following examples:

Happiness can be a predictor variable, influencing our decisions and behaviors.
Happiness might be the desired outcome, so understanding how and why some people are happier than others is essential.

However, the connection between our behavior and happiness must be better understood. Even though “being happy” is a desired outcome, people still make decisions that prevent them from becoming happier. For example, why do we choose to work more if our work does not make us happier? Why are we unhappy even if our basic needs are met?

An example of how happiness can influence decision-making

Sometimes, we might choose not to maximize a monetary or financial gain but place importance on other, more subjective outcomes.

To illustrate: If faced with two jobs — one that pays well but will bring no joy and another that pays less but will bring much joy — some people would prefer to maximize their happiness over financial gain.

If this decision were evaluated using a utility framework where the only valued outcomes were practical, then the decision would seem irrational. However, this scenario suggests that psychological outcomes, such as the experience of happiness, are as crucial as other socio-economic outcomes.

Economists recognize that subjective wellbeing , or happiness, is an essential characteristic and sometimes a desirable outcome that can motivate our decision-making.

In the last few decades, economics has shifted to include happiness as a measurable and vital part of general wellbeing (Graham, 2005).

The consequence is that typical economic questions now also look at the impact of employment, finances, and other economic metrics on the subjective rating and experience of happiness at individual and country levels.

Happiness is such a vital outcome in society and economic activity that it must be involved in policy making. The subjective measure of happiness is as important as other typical measures used in economics.

Many factors can contribute to happiness. In this post, we consider the role of money. The relationship between happiness, or subjective wellbeing, and money is assumed to be positive: More money means greater happiness.

However, the relationship between money and happiness is paradoxical: More money does not guarantee happiness (for an excellent review, see Graham, 2005).

Specifically, low levels of income are correlated with unhappiness. However, as our individual wealth increases and our basic needs are met, our needs change and differ in their importance.

Initially, our happiness is affected by absolute levels of income, but at a certain threshold, we place importance on relative levels of income. Knowing how we rank and compare to other people, in terms of wealth and material possession, influences our happiness.

The relationship between wealth and happiness continues to increase, but only to a certain point; at this stage, more wealth does not guarantee more happiness (Easterlin, 1974; Diener et al., 1993).

This may be at odds with our everyday lived experience. Most of us choose to work longer hours or multiple jobs so that we make more money. However, what is the point of doing this if money does not increase our happiness? Why do we seem to think that more money will make us happier?

History of the economics of happiness

The relationship between economics and happiness originated in the early 1970s. Brickman and Campbell (1971, as cited in Brickman et al., 1978) first argued that the typical outcomes of a successful life, such as wealth or income, had no impact on individual wellbeing.

Easterlin (1974) expanded these results and showed that although wealthier people tend to be happier than poor people in the same country, the average happiness levels within a country remained unchanged even as the country’s overall wealth increased.

The inconsistent relationship between happiness and income and its sensitivity to critical income thresholds make this topic so interesting.

There is some evidence that wealthier countries are happier than others, but only when comparing the wealthy with the poor (Easterlin, 1974; Graham, 2005).

As countries become wealthier, citizens report higher happiness, but this relationship is strongest when the starting point is poverty. Above a certain income threshold, happiness no longer increases (Diener et al., 1993).

Interestingly, people tend to agree on the amount of money needed to make them happy; but beyond a certain value, there is little increase in happiness (Haesevoets et al., 2022).

Measurement challenges

Measuring happiness accurately and reliably is challenging. Researchers disagree on what happiness means.

It is not the norm in economics to measure happiness by directly asking a participant how happy they are; instead, happiness is inferred through:

Subjective wellbeing (Clark, 2018; Easterlin, 2004)
A combination of happiness and life satisfaction (Bruni, 2007)

Furthermore, happiness can refer to an acute psychological state, such as feeling happy after a nice meal, or a lasting state similar to contentment (Nettle, 2005).

Researchers might use different definitions of happiness and ways to measure it, thus leading to contradictory results. For example, happiness might be used synonymously with subjective wellbeing and can refer to several things, including life satisfaction and financial satisfaction (Diener & Oishi, 2000).

It seems contradictory that wealthier nations are not happier overall than poorer nations and that increasing the wealth of poorer nations does not guarantee that their happiness will increase too. What could then be done to increase happiness?

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What is the relationship between income/wealth and happiness? To answer that question, we looked at studies to see where and how money improves happiness, but we’ll also consider the limitations to the positive effect of income.

Money buys access; jobs boost happiness

Overwhelming evidence shows that wealth is correlated with measures of wellbeing.

Wealthier people have access to better healthcare, education, and employment, which in turn results in higher life satisfaction (Helliwell et al., 2012). A certain amount of wealth is needed to meet basic needs, and satisfying these needs improves happiness (Veenhoven & Ehrhardt, 1995).

Increasing happiness through improved quality of life is highest for poor households, but this is explained by the starting point. Access to essential services improves the quality of life, and in turn, this improves measures of wellbeing.

Most people gain wealth through employment; however, it is not just wealth that improves happiness; instead, employment itself has an important association with happiness. Happiness and employment are also significantly correlated with each other (Helliwell et al., 2021).

Lockdown on happiness

The World Happiness Report (Helliwell et al., 2021) reports that unemployment increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this was accompanied by a marked decline in happiness and optimism.

The pandemic also changed how we evaluated certain aspects of our lives; for example, the relationship between income and happiness declined. After all, what is the use of money if you can’t spend it? In contrast, the association between happiness and having a partner increased (Helliwell et al., 2021).

Wealthier states smile more, but is it real?

World_Happiness_Report_2020_-_Ranking_of_Happiness_2017-2019_-_Top_20_Countries

If we took a snapshot of happiness and a country’s wealth, we would find that richer countries tend to have happier populations than poorer countries.

For example, based on the 2021 World Happiness Report, the top five happiest countries — which are also wealthy countries — are Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, and the Netherlands (Helliwell et al., 2021).

In contrast, the unhappiest countries are those that tend to be emerging markets or have a lower gross domestic product (GDP), e.g., Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and India (Graham, 2005; Helliwell et al., 2021).

At face value, this makes sense: Poorer countries most likely have other factors associated with them, e.g., higher unemployment, more crime, and less political stability. So, based on this cross-sectional data, a country’s wealth and happiness levels appear to be correlated. However, over a more extended period, the relationship between happiness and GDP is nil (Easterlin, 2004).

That is, the subjective wellbeing of a population does not increase as a country becomes richer. Even though the wealth of various countries worldwide has increased over time, the overall happiness levels have not increased similarly or have remained static (Kahneman et al., 2006). This is known as a happiness–income paradox.

Easterlin (2004) posits four explanations for this finding:

Societal and individual gains associated with increased wealth are concentrated among the extremely wealthy.
Our degree of happiness is informed by how we compare to other people, and this relative comparison does not change as country-wide wealth increases.
Happiness is not limited to only wealth and financial status, but is affected by other societal and political factors, such as crime, education, and trust in the government.
Long-term satisfaction and contentment differ from short-term, acute happiness.

Kahneman et al. (2006) provide an alternative explanation centered on the method typically used by researchers. Specifically, they argue that the order of the questions asked to measure happiness and how these questions are worded have a focusing effect. Through the question, the participant’s attention to their happiness is sharpened — like a lens in a camera — and their happiness needs to be over- or underestimated.

Kahneman et al. (2006) also point out that job advancements like a raise or a promotion are often accompanied by an increase in salary and work hours. Consequently, high-paying jobs often result in less leisure time available to spend with family or on hobbies and can cause more unhappiness.

Not all that glitters is gold

Extensive research explored whether a sudden financial windfall was associated with a spike in happiness (e.g., Sherman et al., 2020). The findings were mixed. Sometimes, having more money is associated with increased life satisfaction and improved physical and mental health.

This boost in happiness, however, is not guaranteed, nor is it long. Sometimes, individuals even wish it had never happened (Brickman et al., 1978; Sherman et al., 2020).

Consider lottery winners. These people win sizable sums of money — typically more extensive than a salary increase — large enough to impact their lives significantly. Despite this, research has consistently shown that although lottery winners report higher immediate, short-term happiness, they do not experience higher long-term happiness (Sherman et al., 2020).

Here are some reasons for this:

Previous everyday activities and experiences become less enjoyable when compared to a unique, unusual experience like winning the lottery.
People habituate to their new lifestyle.
A sudden increase in wealth can disrupt social relationships among friends and family members.
Work and hobbies typically give us small nuggets of joy over a more extended period (Csikszentmihalyi et al., 2005). These activities can lose their meaning over a longer period, resulting in more unhappiness (Sherman et al., 2020; Brickman et al., 1978).

Sherman et al. (2020) further argue that lottery winners who decide to quit their job after winning, but do not fill this newly available time with some type of meaningful hobby or interest, are also more likely to become unhappy.

Passive activities do not provide the same happiness as work or hobbies. Instead, if lottery winners continue to take part in activities that give them meaning and require active engagement, then they can avoid further unhappiness.

Happiness: Is it temperature or climate?

Like most psychological research, part of the challenge is clearly defining the topic of investigation — a task made more daunting when the topic falls within two very different fields.

Nettle (2005) describes happiness as a three-tiered concept, ranging from short-lived but intense on one end of the spectrum to more abstract and deep on the other.

The first tier refers to transitory feelings of joy, like when one opens up a birthday present.

The second tier describes judgments about feelings, such as feeling satisfied with your job. The third tier is more complex and refers to life satisfaction.

Across research, different definitions are used: Participants are asked about feelings of (immediate) joy, overall life satisfaction, moments of happiness or satisfaction, and mental wellbeing . The concepts are similar but not identical, thus influencing the results.

Most books on happiness economics are textbooks. Although no doubt very interesting, they’re not the easy-reading books we prefer to recommend.

Instead, below you will find a range of books written by economists that explore happiness. These should provide a good springboard on the overall topic of happiness and what influences it, in case any of our readers want to pick up a more in-depth textbook afterward.

If you have a happiness book you would recommend, please let us know in the comments section.

1. Happiness: Lessons from a New Science – Richard Layard

Richard Layard, a lead economist based in London, explores in his book if and how money can affect happiness.

Layard does an excellent job of introducing topics from various fields and framing them appropriately for the reader.

The book is aimed at readers from varying academic and professional backgrounds, so no experience is needed to enjoy it.

Find the book on Amazon .

2. Happiness by Design: Change What You Do, Not How You Think – Paul Dolan

This book has a more practical spin. The author explains how we can use existing research and theories to make small changes to increase our happiness.

Paul Dolan’s primary thesis is that practical things will have a bigger effect than abstract methods, and we should change our behavior rather than our thinking.

The book is a quick read (airport-perfect!), and Daniel Kahneman penned the foreword.

3. The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed and Happiness – Morgan Housel

This book is not necessarily about happiness economics, but it is close enough to the overall theme that it is worth mentioning.

Since most people are concerned with making more money, this book helps teach the reader why we make the decisions we do and how we make better decisions about our money.

This book is a worthwhile addition to any bookcase if you are interested in the relationship between finances and psychology in general.

4. Happiness: The Science Behind Your Smile – Daniel Nettle

If you are interested in happiness overall, then we recommend Happiness: The Science Behind Your Smile by Daniel Nettle, a professor of behavioral science at Newcastle University.

In this book, he takes a scientific approach to explaining happiness, starting with an in-depth exploration of the definition of happiness and some of its challenges.

The research that he presents comes from various fields, including social sciences, medicine, neurobiology, and economics.

Because of its small size, this book is perfect for a weekend away or to read on a plane.

5 & 6. Prefer to listen rather than read?

One of our favorite podcasts is Intelligence2, where leading experts in a particular field gather to debate a particular topic.

This show’s host, Dr. Laurie Santos, argues that we can increase our happiness by not hoarding our money for ourselves but by giving it to others instead. If you are interested in this episode , or any of the other episodes in the Happiness Lab podcast series, then head on over to their page.

There are several resources available at PositivePsychology.com for our readers to use in their professional and personal development.

In this section, you’ll find a few that should supplement any work on happiness and economics. Since the undercurrent of the topic is whether happiness can be improved through wealth, a few resources look at happiness overall.

Valued Living Masterclass

Although knowledge is power, knowing that money does not guarantee happiness does not mean that clients will suddenly feel fulfilled and satisfied with their lives.

For this reason, we recommend the Valued Living Masterclass , for professionals to help their clients find meaning in their lives. Rather than keeping up with the Joneses or chasing a high-paying job, professionals can help their clients connect with their inner meaning (i.e., their why ) as a way to find meaning and gain happiness.

Three free exercises

If you want to try it out before committing, look at the Meaning & Valued Living exercise pack , which includes three exercises for free.

17 Happines Exercises

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others develop strategies to boost their wellbeing, this collection contains 17 validated happiness and wellbeing exercises . Use them to help others pursue authentic happiness and work toward a life filled with purpose and meaning

17 Exercises To Increase Happiness and Wellbeing

Add these 17 Happiness & Subjective Well-Being Exercises [PDF] to your toolkit and help others experience greater purpose, meaning, and positive emotions.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

As you’ve seen in our article, the evidence overwhelmingly clarifies that money does not guarantee more happiness … well, long-term happiness.

Our happiness is relative since we compare ourselves to other people, and over time, as we become accustomed to our wealth, we lose all the happiness gains we made.

Money can ease financial and social difficulties; consequently, it can drastically improve people’s living conditions, life expectancy, and education.

Improvements in these outcomes have a knock-on effect on the overall experience of one’s life and the opportunities for one’s family and children. Nevertheless, better opportunities do not guarantee happiness.

Our intention with this post was to illustrate some complexities surrounding the relationship between money and happiness.

Knowing that money does not guarantee happiness, we recommend less expensive methods to improve one’s happiness:

Spend time with friends.
Cultivate hobbies and interests.
Stay active and eat healthy.
Try to live a meaningful life.
Give some love (go smooch your partner or tickle your dog’s belly).

Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend, but money is a fair weather one, at best.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Happiness Exercises for free .

Brickman, P., Coates, D., & Janoff-Bulman, R. (1978). Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 36 (8), 917.
Bruni, L. (2007). Handbook on the economics of happiness . Edward Elgar.
Clark, A. E. (2018). Four decades of the economics of happiness: Where next? Review of Income and Wealth , 64 (2), 245–269.
Csikszentmihalyi, M., Abuhamdeh, S., & Nakamura, J. (2005). Flow. In A. J. Elliot & C. S. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 598–608). Guilford Publications.
Diener, E., Sandvik, E., Seidlitz, L., & Diener, M. (1993). The relationship between income and subjective well-being: Relative or absolute? Social Indicators Research , 28 , 195–223.
Diener, E., & Oishi, S. (2000). Money and happiness: Income and subjective well-being across nations. Culture and Subjective Well-Being , 185 , 218.
DiMaria, C. H., Peroni, C., & Sarracino, F. (2020). Happiness matters: Productivity gains from subjective well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies , 21 (1), 139–160.
Easterlin, R. A. (1974). Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence. In P. A. David & M. W. Reder (Eds.), Nations and households in economic growth: Essays in honor of Moses Abramovitz (pp. 89–125). Academic Press.
Easterlin, R. A. (2004). The economics of happiness. Daedalus , 133 (2), 26–33.
Graham, C. (2005). The economics of happiness. World Economics , 6 (3), 41–55.
Haesevoets, T., Dierckx, K., & Van Hiel, A. (2022). Do people believe that you can have too much money? The relationship between hypothetical lottery wins and expected happiness. Judgment and Decision Making , 17 (6), 1229–1254.
Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (Eds.) (2012). World happiness report . The Earth Institute, Columbia University.
Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., Sachs, J. D., & Neve, J. E. D. (2021). World happiness report 2021 .
Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B., Schkade, D., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2006). Would you be happier if you were richer? A focusing illusion. Science , 312 (5782), 1908–1910.
Nettle, D. (2005). Happiness: The science behind your smile . Oxford University Press.
Sherman, A., Shavit, T., & Barokas, G. (2020). A dynamic model on happiness and exogenous wealth shock: The case of lottery winners. Journal of Happiness Studies , 21 , 117–137.
Steptoe, A. (2019). Happiness and health. Annual Review of Public Health , 40 , 339–359.
Veenhoven, R., & Ehrhardt, J. (1995). The cross-national pattern of happiness: Test of predictions implied in three theories of happiness. Social Indicators Research , 34 , 33–68.

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Money can't buy happiness, a neuroscientist explains why

We all need enough funds to cover our basic needs, but beyond that the connection between wealth and wellness is less clear.

Dean Burnett

"Money can’t buy you happiness" is either a widely accepted insight or a tired cliché. Is it right , though? Scientifically speaking, the answer is… mixed.

A recent study carried out at the University of Bath has once again looked at the relationship between income and happiness .

It seems that, up to a point and within a specific set of circumstances, money can buy happiness. But beyond that, the relationship between money and happiness becomes much looser and uncertain.

What makes us happy?

At the most immediate and fundamental levels, the things that make us happy, or at least the provoke a positive, reward response in our brains, are those that satisfy our basic biological needs. Put simply, we humans, living organisms, need many things to ensure our survival, such as food, water, air, sleep, and security. Our brain recognises these things as being ‘biologically significant’, so if we obtain them, we experience a sense of reward.

Because the human brain can make intuitive and abstract leaps, it can easily recognise that receiving money means we can now more easily obtain food/water/shelter etc. This, as a study carried out by the Wellcome Trust in 2007 found, can be both rewarding and motivational , two things that could fall under the umbrella of happiness.

However, this doesn’t mean ‘more money’ automatically means ‘more happiness’. Money may be recognised by our brains as biologically significant, but there’s an upper limit on how rewarding even biologically significant things can be. For example, eating food can often be pleasurable, but at some point you’ll be sated, after which point eating more causes actual discomfort. Same with drinking. Even things like shelter and security; build too many barriers around yourself and you can feel isolated and oppressed.

There’s also the phenomenon of habituation, where the fundamental parts of our brains learn to not react to things that occur predictably and reliably. As evidenced in a 2011 study carried out by Dr Ruth Krebbs at Ghent University, this is why things that are novel, as in surprising and unexpected, are often more rewarding than familiar things .

In many cases, the same thing happens with money. Receiving your regular pay is reassuring, but receiving unexpected money, even if it’s much less, often makes you much happier.

Also, when we actively and tangibly need it for our survival, obtaining money is very rewarding. But when we go beyond that point, when we’re ‘financially secure’ as they say, money can still be rewarding, but it’s power to make you happy is significantly reduced , a study carried out at San Francisco State University found. More psychological, experience-based stimuli (e.g. travelling, forging new relationships, helping others etc.) have a greater ability to make you happy.

Granted, in the modern world you usually need money to do all those things too, but this ultimately means money’s link to happiness is more indirect, as a means to an end, rather than directly rewarding in its own right.

Is there a threshold amount of money that can make us happy?

That there’s a certain cut-off amount of money where it stops making people has a lot of implications, particularly in the present day. With much talk of wage stagnation, rising prices, and trials of universal basic income becoming increasingly common, the question of how much money people need to be happy is an increasingly salient one.

Unfortunately, there can be no easy answer, at least not one that applies to all people equally, because the factors that determine how much money is ‘enough’ for security and happiness are highly subjective, and vary considerably from person to person.

Some people feel they’d be happy for life with surprisingly modest sums, others don’t think they’d ever feel they had ‘enough’ money. Studies carried out by researchers at the University of Bath have also found that these significant variations are even more apparent when you compare people from different cultures , suggesting the link between money and happiness is at least as much learned as it is ‘innate’.

But even within the same capitalist culture, people’s ideas about financial security can differ drastically, with people who have ample money sometimes being much less happy than those with far less money because they have more worries about.

Can too much money make us unhappy?

This introduces another factor; money can make you unhappy . Or reduce happiness in other ways. Studies have shown that being paid to do something you enjoy can make you less motivated to do it, suggesting it actively reduces potential happiness. This would explain why people are often reluctant to turn a hobby into a job, or actively regret doing so.

Also, in our modern world, money is not static. If we have more money than we strictly need, we don’t hoard a big pile of gold coins in our spare room like modern-day dragons. Money is fluid, often intangible, and typically ends up being tied up with things like investments, stocks, properties, savings accounts, and more.

All these things are subject to the whims of politico-economical factors and more, meaning the person whose money it is has less control over it and less certainty than if they’d gone for the ‘big pile of gold’ option. Loss of control and uncertainty are two reliable sources of stress and unhappiness for the human brain.

Ultimately, rather than “money can’t buy you happiness”, it might be better to say “money can buy you safety and security”, and these things make it easier for us to be happy. But there’s no direct one-to-one relation between money and happiness, and how it affects us ultimately depends on who we are and how we’ve been raised.

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Research: Can Money Buy Happiness?

In his quarterly column, Francis J. Flynn looks at research that examines how to spend your way to a more satisfying life.

September 25, 2013

A boy looks at a toy train he received during an annual gift-giving event on Christmas Eve 2011. | Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez

What inspires people to act selflessly, help others, and make personal sacrifices? Each quarter, this column features one piece of scholarly research that provides insight on what motivates people to engage in what psychologists call “prosocial behavior” — things like making charitable contributions, buying gifts, volunteering one‘s time, and so forth. In short, it looks at the work of some of our finest researchers on what spurs people to do something on behalf of someone else.

In this column I explore the idea that many of the ways we spend money are prosocial acts — and prosocial expenditures may, in fact, make us happier than personal expenditures. Authors Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton discuss evidence for this in their new book, Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending . These behavioral scientists show that you can get more out of your money by following several principles — like spending money on others rather than yourself. Moreover, they demonstrate that these principles can be used not only by individuals, but also by companies seeking to create happier employees and more satisfying products.

According to Dunn and Norton, recent research on happiness suggests that the most satisfying way of using money is to invest in others. This can take a seemingly limitless variety of forms, from donating to a charity that helps strangers in a faraway country to buying lunch for a friend.

Witness Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, two of the wealthiest people in the world. On a March day in 2010, they sat in a diner in Carter Lake, Iowa, and hatched a scheme. They would ask America‘s billionaires to pledge the majority of their wealth to charity. Buffet decided to donate 99 percent of his, saying, “I couldn‘t be happier with that decision.”

And what about the rest of us? Dunn and Norton show how we all might learn from that example, regardless of the size of our bank accounts. Research demonstrating that people derive more satisfaction spending money on others than they do spending it on themselves spans poor and rich countries alike, as well as income levels. The authors show how this phenomenon extends over an extraordinary range of circumstances, from a Canadian college student purchasing a scarf for her mother to a Ugandan woman buying lifesaving malaria medication for a friend. Indeed, the benefits of giving emerge among children before the age of two.

Investing in others can make individuals feel healthier and wealthier, even if it means making yourself a little poorer to reap these benefits. One study shows that giving as little as $1 away can cause you to feel more flush.

Quote Investing in others can make you feel healthier and wealthier, even if it means making yourself a little poorer.

Dunn and Norton further discuss how businesses such as PepsiCo and Google and nonprofits such as DonorsChoose.org are harnessing these benefits by encouraging donors, customers, and employees to invest in others. When Pepsi punted advertising at the 2010 Superbowl and diverted funds to supporting grants that would allow people to “refresh” their communities, for example, more public votes were cast for projects than had been cast in the 2008 election. Pepsi got buzz, and the company‘s in-house competition also offering a seed grant boosted employee morale.

Could this altruistic happiness principle be applied to one of our most disputed spheres — paying taxes? As it turns out, countries with more equal distributions of income also tend to be happier. And people in countries with more progressive taxation (such as Sweden and Japan) are more content than those in countries where taxes are less progressive (such as Italy and Singapore). One study indicated that people would be happier about paying taxes if they had more choice as to where their money went. Dunn and Norton thus suggest that if taxes were made to feel more like charitable contributions, people might be less resentful having to pay them.

The researchers persuasively suggest that the proclivity to derive joy from investing in others may well be just a fundamental component of human nature. Thus the typical ratio we all tend to fall into of spending on self versus others — ten to one — may need a shift. Giving generously to charities, friends, and coworkers — and even your country — may well be a productive means of increasing well-being and improving our lives.

Research selected by Francis Flynn, Paul E. Holden Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

For media inquiries, visit the Newsroom .

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18 Does money buy happiness?

Published: November 2005
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This chapter tackles the apparent paradox of wealth and happiness, which shows that average happiness levels change very little even as the average incomes of people have risen significantly over time. Subjective well-being has been traditionally measured through surveys and observable behaviour. Findings from research show that rich people are happier than poor people, that relative income affects happiness more than absolute income, and that the accumulation of more wealth would be a source of happiness provided it is spent in certain ways. Human beings' capacity for adaptation is also discussed and found to be more effective on certain stimuli than on others. Studies on the choices between conspicuous and inconspicuous consumption reveal that well-being can be significantly improved with the rational reallocation of our resources in certain ways. However, contextual differences between the two types of consumption cause seemingly irrational choices that people make regarding their well-being.

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Can Money Buy Happiness? Evidence for European Countries

Published: 19 February 2019
Volume 15 , pages 953–970, ( 2020 )

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Gabriela Mihaela Muresan ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6715-7406 1 ,
Cristina Ciumas 1 &
Monica Violeta Achim 1

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This research comes to empirical investigate the influence of income on the level of happiness. Can money buy happiness? It’s one of the most frequently disputed and researched questions of all time. At first sight, it seems easy to assign a simple answer: yes or no, but the correct answer is more difficult than these. We start from the assumption that people need to be happy but also need financial resources to feel safe. We used a panel analysis on a sample of 26 European countries over the period 2008–2016. We found that happiness increases with individual income until a threshold of 27,913 Euro per year (rounded to 35,000 USD) in European countries. Also, we found that culture plays an essential role in the perception of happiness. Moreover, our results indicate that a lower power distance, a high individualism, a low level of uncertainty avoidance and a high indulgence statistically increase the level of happiness.

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Muresan, G.M., Ciumas, C. & Achim, M.V. Can Money Buy Happiness? Evidence for European Countries. Applied Research Quality Life 15 , 953–970 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-019-09714-3

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Can money buy happiness, three psychological principles to consider before you make your next purchase.

By Sarah Gervais, Associate Professor of Psychology, Social and Cognitive Program and Law-Psychology Program

11 Nov 2015

We’re all familiar with the idea that money can’t buy happiness. Yet, the reality is that we all spend money and for most of us it is a limited resource. How can we spend our hard earned dough in ways that will maximize our happiness? Psychological research offers some useful insights about the connections between money and happiness to consider before you make your next purchase.

Being Rich Isn’t Necessarily the Path to Happiness. Money is important to happiness. Ask anyone who doesn’t have it. Having a higher income, for example, can give us access to homes in safer neighborhoods, better health care and nutrition, fulfilling work, and more leisure time. However, this only works up to a certain point. Once our income reaches a certain level and our basic needs for food, health care, safety, and shelter are met, the positive effects of money—such as buying your dream home—are often offset by the negative effects—such as working longer hours, or in more stressful jobs, to maintain that income.
Doing Makes us Happier than Having. Most people assume that “things” will lead to more happiness than “experiences.” Physical objects—such as the latest iPhone, handbag, or car—last longer than say going to a concert, taking a cooking class, or going on vacation. Buying things does make us happy, at least in the short term. In the long-term, however, we habituate to new things and even though they may have made us excited and happy at first, eventually the item becomes the new normal and fades into the background. The happiness that comes from purchasing experiences, however, tends to increase over time. One reason is that we often share experiential purchases with other people. Even when you’ve driven that new car into the ground, you’ll still be telling stories with your family and friends about that time when you went on vacation to Colorado and you’ll even be chuckling about when the car broke down and you had to spend the night in the shady motel
Consider Spending Money on Others. Most people think that spending money on themselves will make them happier than spending it on other people. Yet, when researchers assess happiness before and after people spend an annual bonus, people report greater happiness when they spend the bonus money on others or donate it to charity than when they spend it on themselves. This occurs regardless of how big the bonus was. One reason for this phenomenon is that giving to others makes us feel good about ourselves

So, before you pull out your wallet or click to order online, think about whether this purchase will really make you happy. If it will jeopardize your basic needs, think twice. If you have some disposable income, considering planning a trip or taking a class to learn a new skill. Finally, in this season of giving, know that if you spend your money on others or donate it to good causes, you may feel better than if you spend it on yourself.

Note: This article presents some basic principles for money and happiness. Individuals differ in their financial situation and psychological well-being. Consult a financial expert or behavioral health professional for guidance about finances and happiness.

When Money Can — and Can’t — Buy Happiness, According to Research

Money does make us happier — at least to an extent.

Let’s talk about money and joy. Some years back, a Lexus ad boldly claimed: “Whoever said money can’t buy happiness isn’t spending it right.” The message seemed to hint at the possibility of a good life, the road to which has money growing on trees along the way. The currency to a happy life required tangible, monetary currency. Then there is the more abstract, philosophical argument about chasing happiness through other immaterial means; the quixotic notion of finding the happiness within you sounds quite blasé and tiresome by now.

It is a question most enduring in the science of human wellbeing: Can money ever buy happiness? Surely, it can — money can solve tangible problems that come with the ordeal of survival. Money pays rent, buys food, and puts a roof over our heads, among other things. But if it could indeed buy happiness,why would billionaires, with their fat bank accounts, ivory towers, and space vacations, feel lonely and/or try to fill their lack of contentment at the expense of people, environment, and ideas that build a civilization?

The marriage of money and happiness has intrigued psychologists and economists alike. There is a canon of research dedicated solely to answering how financial security impacts our mood, and if it indeed, makes us happier. The long and short of it is money does make us happy — to an extent — and that extent is never a well-defined threshold.

Money guarantees bliss especially for people impacted by poverty or economic turmoil. We go back to 2010, when an important study based in the U.S. anchored much of the debate, arguing that money can make you happier but not beyond an annual income of $75,000 (north of Rs. 58 lakhs after inflation adjustment). The exact limits of money aside, other research to come after, concurs with this largely: in 2017, a Gallup poll surveyed people from around the world, and found a sweet spot: people found emotional wellbeing when they earned something between $60,000 and $75,000 (Rs. 46 lakhs and 58 lakhs). People also attested to feeling a sense of satiation — the peak of happiness, if you will — if they earned somewhere around $95,000 (Rs. 75 lakhs).

In 2018, a study looked at the emotional benefits of regular cash transfers to women in poverty-stricken households in Zambia. Over the next two years, the women reported greater satisfaction in life, both their own and their children. Money meant access to nutritious food, homes, healthcare, and dignity of life that could improve physical and mental health — simplifying the pursuit ofhappiness. We know poverty is both a cause and consequence of poor mental health, but the true extent of mental health conditions in marginalized communities remains underresearched.

Related on The Swaddle:

Why Are Indians So Unhappy?

According to Jayshree Sengupta, economist and author, India’s chronic unhappiness is a result of congestion in cities, concerns about food security and water safety , rising costs of healthcare , women’s safety , and environmental degradation which itself is linked to poor mental wellbeing. Thisexplains why India remains at the bottom of the happiness index rankings.

A consensus thus arises: income matters. If one has money, they have the luxury and logistical wherewithal to pursue things they desire, or just meet basic survival needs. But the exact degree depends on this distinction between “day-to-day” happiness (experienced wellbeing) and overall life satisfaction (evaluative well-being). A sizeable literature shows that people with larger incomes tend to report greater evaluative well-being. One limitation of this canon of research is just how much can you truly measure someone’s experienced well-being, from a daily lens?

In 2021, Matthew Killingsworth, a senior fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, provided a more comprehensive and slightly contrarian outlook onthis relationship. “…researchers have used surveys to ask people how they remember feeling during some period in the past, such as the last day, week, or month. This requires people to accurately remember how they felt across the various moments of the past and then accurately integrate those memories into a single estimate, an approach that is vulnerable to memory errors and biases in judgment,” the study noted.

Published in PNAS , the research showed that money correlated with happiness, irrespective of what the income levels looked like. The conclusion was based on data gathered in real-time over the course of seven years; looking at 33,391 employed adults in the U.S. earning as little as meeting the minimum wage to making more than $500,000 a year. Happiness never plateaued for people who were earning more than $75,000; “higher incomes are associated with both feeling better day-to-day and being more satisfied with life overall,” he wrote.

Then one may wonder, why exactly is money even linked to misery? Psychology and behavioraleconomics come under the spotlight here. “We always think if we just had a little bit more money, we’d be happier, but when we get there, we’re not,” Catherine Sanderson, a psychology professor at Amherst College, told TIME. This paradox of joy is familiar: the more we earn, the more we want, and the less satisfied we feel overall. According to one research, a person is twice as likely to be happy if they go from earning $20,000 a year to more than $50,000; but the levels of happiness kind of flatline after the $90,000 mark. So incomes over $75,000 bought life satisfaction, but happiness not so much.

How Languages Reflect a Culture’s Idea of Happiness

Perhaps, because people always overestimate how much joy can be found by having more money, we forget that as adaptable creatures, people adjust to variations in wealth. A new house, a YSL bag, a shiny new car are all great, but we are bound to get used to them — a phenomenon that economists call the “ hedonistic treadmill .” Money is also linked to greater stress and even conflicts in relationships. “Materialism is not an isolated life priority; as the pursuit of money and possessions are prioritized, it appears that other dimensions of life, such as relationships, are deemphasized,” as the researcher of one such study noted . The pursuit of money creates a scarcity of time for more emotionally rewarding things in life, thus impacting satisfaction in relationships.

Beyond income levels, money correlates with happiness in other aspects too. According to one s urvey from 2011, when people spent money on “experiences” — such as a visit to an adventure park, a vacation, or buying a gift for someone you love — over tangible goods (the pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing), they reported feeling greater feelings of happiness.

This is also linked to something called the “appraisal-tendency framework.” A review of literature about emotions and decision-making found how we value something based on the outcome we expect to come out of a said thing. “For example, if you’re afraid of your house being broken into, buying a state-of-the-art home security system may reduce your level of fear, which can then improve your happiness or emotional wellbeing,” as Healthline explained . Wealth earmarks not all kinds of possibilities, only some.

Then there is a theory to happiness oft-ignored. People may find joy when they turn objects of their purchase into experiences. “A book that sits unread on a bookshelf is a thing; a book you plunge into with gusto, savoring every plot twist, is an experience,” David Futrelle wrote in TIME. Futrelle spoke to psychologist Tom Gilovich, who further argued that “people who are happiest are those who are best at wringing experiences out of everything they spend money on, whether it’s dancing lessons or hiking boots.”

A more sustainable way of finding money and bliss, then, seems to be by way of investing in relationships and people. Any human connection is linked to unquantifiable benefits on moods and happiness. So, spending on dinners and dates is quite literally an investment in this pursuit of happiness.

I think of bell hooks, and her treatise on joy: “Loving friendships provide us with a space to experience the joy of community in a relationship where we learn to process all our issues, to cope with differences and conflict while staying connected.”

Saumya Kalia is an Associate Editor at The Swaddle. Her journalism and writing explore issues of social justice, digital sub-cultures, media ecosystem, literature, and memory as they cut across socio-cultural periods. You can reach her at @Saumya_Kalia.

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Can't Buy Happiness?

Money, personality, and well-being

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on November 27, 2014

Because one student wanted to conduct a happiness intervention, gratitude started spreading through my lab—everyone has been thanking everyone else. And, as you would expect, the entire lab seems authentically happier after we started our own gratitude intervention. This is a story about how developing a thesis project transformed my entire lab.

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on August 10, 2014

Happy people have a particular pattern they use to spend windfall money when their essentials are paid for. They take about 25% and save it or invest it. They take about 12% and give it to charities or religious organizations or gifts for other people – basically, pro-social spending. And they spend about 40% on life experiences.

Consumer Behavior

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on June 30, 2014

Everyday businesses are realizing that in order to prosper in today’s consumer-centric economy satisfying the psychological needs of their customers is vital to their financial success. For example, my friends at Zenzi are constantly touting the benefits of value-based marketing. But why, you may ask, are values so important?

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on March 23, 2014

Wealthy neighborhoods fuel materialistic desires. Individuals who live in affluent areas are more likely to spend compulsively and less likely to save.

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on February 2, 2014

Data collected from BeyondThePurchase.org shows that those who are willing to sacrifice for pleasure value thrill-seeking and physical pleasure. The more people enjoy eating tasty food, the more maladaptively they pursue pleasure. Interestingly, there is relationship between hedonistic tendencies and happiness; however, hedonists reported feeling anxious.

Personality

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on January 26, 2014

While researchers can determine, quite easily, consumer behaviors from self-report data, it is almost impossible to get reliable data on why they buy what they do. How then can we predict why consumers make the decisions they make?

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on December 16, 2013

There is a wide array of decisions associated with seeing a movie. These decisions affect our own personal experience as well as the profitability of movie production and promotion companies. Unfortunately predicting the success/failure of films has been a largely unsuccessful venture—making movie productions a risky investment.

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on November 17, 2013

Marketers are always seeking to understand how consumers perceive and connect with their product. In doing this, they are trying to find ways to improve the product, packaging, messaging, and promotion. Improvements in these areas lead to better sales. The question is, what is the best way to get this information?

Decision-Making

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on October 23, 2013

We are constantly finding ways to layer plausible explanations onto decisions we make throughout the course of our everyday lives. While these explanations allow us to weave a coherent story, often times the true reason for why we make a decision is obscured from our conscious awareness.

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on September 22, 2013

Advertisements with the intent of eliciting emotional responses from the consumer have become embedded in our culture – from ‘Nothin’ Says Lovin’ Like Somethin’ in the Oven’ (Pillsbury) and ‘There are some things money can’t buy, for everything else there’s MasterCard’. But using emotional responses is not as straightforward as just presenting happy and cheery images.

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on September 19, 2013

Every day more and more people are trying to understand the relationship between money and happiness. Lately I have beening thinking about, what seems like, a simple question: do our values predict what we buy? Allen and Ng proposed that the influence of values on product evaluation will be different for utilitarian and symbolic products

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on September 7, 2013

A few years ago I read a story in CNN Money (Most Americans can't afford a $1,000 emergency expense) that reported over 60% of Americans did not have enough money in their savings or checking accounts to pay for a $1,000 emergency. I was shocked. Is it possible that only 36% of US adults have $1,000 in a savings account saved up for a rainy day? Well, maybe not.

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on September 1, 2013

A few weeks I wrote about how a lack of money management predicts individuals' compulsive spending, regardless of their personality, gender, age, and income. These results were based on a study published in the Journal of Economic Psychology. In this blog entry I answer a few follow-up questions.

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on August 21, 2013

We asked about their materialistic values, addictive shopping behavior, and motivations behind their purchases with widely-used questionnaires in order to explore the relationship between these three things. We learned that individuals who value material possessions are more likely to shop compulsively because they don't manage their credit well.

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on August 16, 2013

I’m convinced that one secret of Warren Buffett’s enduring popularity is his “everyman-ness.” While “The Oracle” is insanely wealthy, he is also grounded and approachable which makes replicating what he has done seem almost doable for regular schlubs like you or I. Buffett famously said of intelligence and investment success, "You don't need to be a rocket scientist."

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on August 4, 2013

So, why do shopping addicts, or compulsive buyers, keep spending their money even in the face of harmful financial, emotional, and social consequences? Compulsive shoppers tend to be people who bury their head in the sand and ignore credit card bills, as we we found that these individuals keep on buying because they are looking for that "buy high."

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on August 1, 2013

Certainly, people value certain aspects of happiness more than others. So, we asked users of BeyondThePurchase.org to defined the "good life."

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on July 30, 2013

People who spent most of their disposable income on experiences scored highly on the “extravert” and “openness to new experience” scales.

Sport and Competition

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on July 18, 2013

When women perceive there to be competition for mating opportunities, they sexy up their wardrobe. Something as seemingly unrelated as the state of the economy may lead women to perceive that the pool of available, attractive men is smaller, and thus, the competition for those mates stronger.

Adolescence

Ryan T. Howell Ph.D. on May 28, 2013

Buying the right car for your teenager can prove to be a challenge. A lot of parents out there think it’s just about picking one and going with it. However, your teenager obviously doesn’t think like you.

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Can Money Really Buy Happiness? the Answer Is Complicated

Posted: April 10, 2024 | Last updated: April 10, 2024

While money can buy some happiness through meeting basic needs and enjoyable experiences, it cannot purchase meaning, love, or inner fulfillment - the deeper keys to lasting happiness.

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Money Can’t Buy Happiness Essay for Students and Children in English

Money Can’t Buy Happiness Essay: The proverb “Money Can’t Buy Happiness” states that money can buy all the materialistic things like cars, houses, and also you can live a luxurious life too but having all the materialistic things surely will not give happiness. Money can be used to buy anything in the world but there is no shop where you can walk and buy happiness and so they say money can’t buy happiness.

When it comes to the question of whether money can buy happiness or not the answer here is that money is just a tool to buy things that give us luxury which in turn will give us happiness. But it doesn’t necessarily increase our happiness. Buying more and more luxurious things won’t really bring you more joy. More money isn’t going to improve your mindset, nor will it bring peace to mind. In other words, you can say that more money can’t buy happiness. There are many aspects which money can’t give.

You can read more Essay Writing about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Suppose you think a new 24” LED TV will bring you happiness but after having the same 24” LED you see a better option and it makes you feel sad. You want to have better than this. It is not actually the tv that gives you happiness, it is the human nature of having more. A human being is one who is never satisfied. Happiness is actually the state of mind which cannot be achieved by materialistic things. There are many reasons which prove that money can’t buy happiness.

Buying stuff won’t make us happy, because we tend to compare it with others. Comparisons are ridiculous and quite often harmful to us.

What is Happiness?

Is it a big car, a luxurious house, or a big-screen LED TV? Buying any new stuff feels great at first. But gradually months and years later, the excitement decreases. The bright, shiny, newness will eventually go down and you’ll want a new one or more.

Happiness is a feeling. Feeling that money can’t buy. If someone asks are you happy, what will you answer?.

Happiness means satisfaction. Be satisfied with what you have in your life. Not to crave on the things that you don’t have.

Reasons Why Money Can’t Buy Happiness

There are some very good reasons why having more money doesn’t necessarily make a person happier. It can actually turn the opposite. Many wealthy people, for example, are actually under stress.

Here we mention few reasons why money can’t buy happiness

Money Can’t Buy Happiness Essay for Students

More Stuff More Work

Many think that if you get more luxurious stuff our life would be happier but that isn’t true. The more the stuff, the more work it takes to take care of it. Day by day everything has become larger. Today people want larger houses to live in but keeping it clean and maintained is again a challenge. It takes more time and effort to keep your mansions neat and tidy.

More Stuff Less Free Time

As you own more stuff, you will get less free time because you’ll be spending time in the maintenance of the things you bought. Time is very important for everyone, but much of our free time is spent doing house chores and taking care of our stuff. You can use the money to hire maids but that is not possible in every situation.

More Stuff More Expenses

The more stuff you own, the more money you will have to spend to maintain it.

For example, bigger houses need more repairs than smaller ones. Unfortunately, repairs are a necessary part and can be expensive.

The more stuff you own, the more work and money is spent to maintain it. Having less stuff can free up some of your time to do things you enjoy. So money cannot always bring you happiness.

Materialistic things give Temporary Satisfaction

Money can buy temporary happiness. Everyone experiences themselves on cloud nine when they’ve bought something they’ve been desiring. These feelings of happiness are usually temporary. This happiness soon fades away and that new thing is no longer interesting.

Scientists have proved that we get more happiness from our experiences but not from materialistic things. And also they don’t cost much.

Time spent with your loved ones will give you more happiness than buying a costly item that you were eyeing for a long time.

Money Can’t Buy Family, Friends and Love

Family, friends and your loved ones are the people who will make you special. They are the people whose surroundings will make you happy. And definitely, money cannot buy these relationships.

When people are dying and taking their last breath they don’t want to see the things they own or the achievements of their life. All they want to see are their loved ones.

It’s their relationships that really matter but not stuff.

True love doesn’t care whether your loved one is rich or poor. That person will value you for who you are and not money.

Money Can’t Give You Peace of Mind

A person can live without a big house, he can survive without driving a car but cannot live with a stressful mind. True happiness has nothing to do with the bank balance. More money also sometimes steals away the peace of mind because of insecurity.

Changing our outlook for money is the first step in achieving true happiness, the kind of happiness that comes from being satisfied with what you have.

In conclusion, once you have your basic needs like food, water, shelter, clothing and the feeling of safety, then money can’t buy happiness.

It’s up to you to build meaningful relationships, enjoy the little things in life, and start spending your money on experiences and other people rather than materialistic things.

Can Money Buy Happiness Argumentative Essay, With Outline

Published by Boni on February 21, 2022 February 21, 2022

Can Money Buy Happiness Argumentative Essay Outline

Can money buy happiness? A question we ask ourselves everyday but when it comes to writing essays on the subject, the best solution is finding cheap research papers online where you can get a uniquely customized essay that will get you good grades.

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Introduction

Thesis: Money can buy happiness as it reduces stress, enables control, and enables spending on others.

Paragraph 1:

Money can help one reduce or relieve intense stress.

People with higher incomes experience less negative intensity from distressing events.
The higher the income, the lower the intensity of stress one may undergo regardless of the circumstances.
With reduced stress, one is likely to experience happiness as they do not have to develop negative thoughts.

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Paragraph 2:

Money enables one to exercise greater control over their life.

One can largely determine the direction their life takes by spending large amounts of money.
They can access more leisure time, fulfilling work, better nutrition and healthcare, and homes in friendly and safer neighborhoods.
Satisfaction of human wants forms part of what one needs in order to be happy.

Paragraph 3:

Money makes it possible for a person to attain happiness by spending on other people.

People experience high happiness levels by donating their annual bonus to charitable organizations or spending it on other people.
Giving to others, or lending a helping hand, makes human beings develop a good feeling about themselves.
People have to have enough for themselves first before they can consider giving.

Paragraph 4:

Some people may argue that people need family and friends more than they need money for happiness.

This may be true to some extent as people often turn to family and friends for various kinds of help.
However, without good income, one cannot offer meaningful help to another person.
One can also be happy even without depending so much on their family and friends if they have good income.

Read an essay on The Divine Comedy by Dante Aligheri that tells a fictional story that takes the audience through the nine levels of hell.

Money can buy happiness because with it, one experiences less stress, exercises control over their life, and can easily spend on other people.
Less stress attracts more happiness while control over one’s life gives them immense satisfaction.
Being able to help other people in terms of money makes one feel good about oneself.
Therefore, it is not true that money cannot buy happiness.

Can Money Buy Happiness Argumentative Essay

It is often said that “ money cannot buy happiness .”This phrase has even become some wisdom of sorts, one that makes people regulate their “appetite” for money. The irony however is that almost all human needs, both primary and secondary, have some form of attachment to money. Plainly put, it is money that enables an individual to cater for most, if not all, of what they need in their daily life. This yields the question of whether it is true that one cannot buy happiness using money. While some people will align themselves with the argument that happiness depends not on money, others will argue that money attracts satisfaction and thus brings happiness. Irrespective of the argument one may front, money can indeed buy happiness as it reduces stress, enables control, and enables spending on others.

Money can help one reduce or relieve intense stress. In a study investigating the relationship between stress and income, it was found out that regardless of their income, the participants experienced distressing circumstances and/or events almost in a similar manner (Blanding, 2022). The number of frustrations they underwent on a daily basis was similar. However, “those with higher incomes experienced less negative intensity from those events” (Blanding, 2022). The implication here is that the higher the income, the lower the intensity of stress one may undergo regardless of the circumstances. With reduced stress, one is likely to experience happiness as they do not have to develop negative thoughts which might plunge them into depression. It follows that with more money, it is possible that one may actually avoid being unhappy. They may spend their money in dealing with whatever stressing situation they may be experiencing and hence reduce the negative impact of the situation.

In close connection with the foregoing is that money enables one to exercise greater control over their life. One can actually largely determine the direction their life takes by spending large amounts of money. They can access more leisure time, fulfilling work, better nutrition and healthcare, and homes in neighborhoods that are friendly and safer (Gervais, 2015). As noted by Brooks (2022), satisfaction of human wants forms part of what one needs in order for them to lead a happy and fulfilling life. Therefore, when one can afford virtually everything they need for a comfortable life, there is no reason why they should be unhappy. They know they have control of what they will eat in their next meal. In the same breadth, they know they can determine the outcomes of happenings in their life. They are in full control of their life and are therefore very happy.

Money also makes it possible for a person to attain happiness by spending on other people. A research study revealed that participants recorded higher happiness levels upon donating their annual bonus to charitable organizations or spending it on other people than using it on themselves (Gervais, 2015). This was the outcome irrespective of the bonus amount. One explanation to this finding was that giving to other people, or lending a helping hand, makes human beings develop a good feeling about themselves (Clements, 2018). However, it is common knowledge that one cannot give if they do not have. In most cases, they have to have enough for themselves first before they can consider giving. The implication here is that in order to enjoy the happiness that comes with giving, one has to have a higher income or a substantial amount of money. It is a clear case of how one can buy happiness using money.

Some people may front the argument that people need family and friends more than they need money for happiness. To some extent, this may be true as people often turn to family and friends for various kinds of help (Blanding, 2022). It is however also true that in the world of today, one can only offer meaningful help to a friend or family member in need of help mostly if they have good income. On the same note, one may not easily ask for help if they are in a position to afford most of the things they need. This means they can be happy even without depending so much on their family and friends. This argument is in line with the finding that the higher the household income, the higher the happiness and life satisfaction one enjoys, even for those earning more than $75,000 (Hazell & Plant, 2021). People with such income are less likely to find themselves in compelling situations that require calling for help from outside.

Money can buy happiness because with it, one experiences less stress, exercises control over their life, and can easily spend on other people. Less stress attracts more happiness as it ensures that one can avoid being sad because of distressing situations. Control over one’s life gives them immense satisfaction as they can determine the quality of their life. Being able to help other people in terms of money makes one feel good about oneself. Those with high incomes do not even need family and friends that much because they can respond to almost all that they need in good time. Therefore, it is not true that money cannot buy happiness, and people should strive to find better income generating activities so they may enjoy the happiness that accompanies being in possession of large amounts of money.

Blanding, M. (2022). “More proof that money can buy happiness (or a life with less stress)”. Harvard Business School . Retrieved February 20, 2022 from https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/more-proof-that-money-can-buy-happiness

Brooks, A. C. (2022). From strength to strength: finding success, happiness, and deep purpose in the second half of life . East Rutherford, NJ: Penguin Publishing Group.

Clements, J. (2018). From here to financial happiness: enrich your life in just 77 days . Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Gervais, S. (2015). “Three psychological principles to consider before you make your next purchase”. College of Arts and Sciences . Retrieved February 20, 2022 from https://psychology.unl.edu/can-money-buy-happiness

Hazell, J., & Plant, M. (2021). “Can money buy happiness? A review of new data”. Giving What We Can . Retrieved February 20, 2022 from https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/post/2021/06/can-money-buy-happiness-a-review-of-new-data/

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COMMENTS

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10 Lines on Money Can't Buy Happiness Essay in English. Focussed on making as much wealth as possible, you may lose the time available at hand. Buying things for personal consumption may feel rewarding at first. But using that money for a cause other than personal gain will help in growing a positive personality.
Money Can't Buy Happiness Essay for Students and Children in English
June 19, 2023 by Laxmi. Money Can't Buy Happiness Essay: The proverb "Money Can't Buy Happiness" states that money can buy all the materialistic things like cars, houses, and also you can live a luxurious life too but having all the materialistic things surely will not give happiness. Money can be used to buy anything in the world but ...
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Money is a source of short-term happiness and only gives us pleasure; it does not give us happiness or joy. Wealth is a material asset that gives us synthetic blissfulness, which will eventually fade away. Money can not buy true happiness, it buys artificial happiness. People who value money, beauty and popularity more so than they value ...
Can Money Buy Happiness Argumentative Essay
Conclusion. Money can buy happiness because with it, one experiences less stress, exercises control over their life, and can easily spend on other people. Less stress attracts more happiness while control over one's life gives them immense satisfaction. Being able to help other people in terms of money makes one feel good about oneself.

Happiness Economics: Can Money Buy Happiness?

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