Preview

Does Wealth Lead to Happiness?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1067 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Does Wealth Lead to Happiness?
Does wealth lead to happiness?

You can't buy happiness! Have you heard this before? Do you think that it is true? Surely we have all heard this age old adage, and most of us understand that it is indeed true. You cannot buy yourself a happy life.

But does that mean that money is bad, that we should not strive to build wealth and financial prosperity for ourselves and those that we love? Absolutely not. Just as money does not buy happiness, it definitely does not repel it either. In fact, there are many negative beliefs about money that many people hold, beliefs that literally kill off any chance for them to ever get rich.

Having financial abundance is something that most people desire. How can it not be? Money is an essential part of living, and the more of it you have, the more freedom you are able to enjoy. I personally think that the money can't buy happiness line is just an excuse that many people use to justify why they are not rich, even though they secretly wish they were.

They use this statement as a way to project to others that they are not rich because they do not want to be, because they frown upon it, when in all reality they would strive for wealth if they actually thought they had a chance at attaining it.

I think that happiness stems from deeper levels than material abundance. But I also feel that money can greatly enhance the excitement, freedom, and enjoyability of life, when it is in the right hands. If someone who is miserable thinks that by building a fortune they will find the key to happiness, they will assuredly be disappointed. If you are not happy without money, you will not be happy with money.

But if someone is genuinely happy, and they have an optimistic and positive outlook on life, creating wealth will add to their overall experience. Money is in no way bad, and if you keep the right perspective on it, you can enjoy a wealthy and happy life.

So does wealth lead to happiness? No it doesn't, but it can add

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    I agree that money leads to happiness because if you don't have money you can't buy things, you can't go out and do things like go on vacations and do things just to have fun. People who don't have money are also usually extremely stressed out and spend most of their time working.…

    • 1934 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The definition of happiness is that state of being happy, with that being said if money makes someone or the person they love happy than continue spending money on one another, just realize that money can only buy you temporary love and happiness and once it's all gone that person will be left with nothing. Money can buy someone a big fancy cars and…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This never ending pursuit of money has made the society a selfish one. People forget that there are many things that money can't buy. A Chinese proverb summarizes this argument very well by saying that money can buy a house but it cannot make a home, that it can not buy time, sleep knowledge, health, respect and a good life only the material aspects can be bought but not ones that come from within. Stephen R. Covey in his book ' seven habits of highly effective people also mentions that some of us tend to be centered around money and so our sense of security and happiness is directly related to how much money we have and since its human nature to never be satisfied with what one has he is likely to remain unhappy most of the time. Even a huge increase in wealth is unlikely to satisfy such a person. For this purpose we need to alter our centres to what we really want at the end of our…

    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Geography of Bliss Essay

    • 1088 Words
    • 3 Pages

    For centuries, mankind seeks to answer the question: Can money buy happiness? Therefore psychologists are exploring the relationship between wealth and happiness for decades. They came to the conclusion that money can make people happy if it involves moving from a state of extreme poverty into the middle class, but they do not have a noticeable impact in the future. It means that people feel glad and safe when they have enough of money to satisfy daily needs. It is important to understand, what really makes people happy besides the living routine. Jarod Kintz quotes “I think the key indicator for wealth is not good grades, work ethic, or IQ. I believe it is relationships. Ask yourself two questions: How many people do I know, and how much ransom money could I get for each one? ”I think it is safe to say happiness have many aspects. The real versions of well-being that plays out every day are the ones based upon an individual experience, perception and values.…

    • 1088 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “It seems only natural that happiness should flow from having more money. Even if they don’t admit it, people still behave as though it were true. More money means you can have what you want and do what you want.” (Dean 2008). Wealth and possessions do not equal happiness because no matter how much money and gems you have you can not buy feelings, but only comfort, also if you are working hard for more money you are experiencing more stress and negative emotions.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although there will always be those who say money cannot buy happiness, money can lead to personal satisfaction, which in the end leads to happiness. Happiness can be created through the things that one owns, also by what they have compared to others around them. As said in the article, “The Happiness of Pursuit,” one helps obtain happiness because “money can boost happiness if it allows people to obtain more of the things they need and desire” (qtd. in Kluger). This is proven through the fact that when people get what they want, or get more of the things they enjoy, then they become happy, and money can be used to get those things. It can also be argued that based on the amount of money one makes, their happiness can either be increased or decreased. In an article from the Time Magazine, according to Belinda Luscombe, “the more [people make], the more they felt their life was going well.” If it is true that the more money people make, and the better they feel pertaining to how their life is going, then they will definitely be happier depending on their monetary wealth. With the constant arguing back and forth of people as to whether money makes people happy, sad, or has no affect, it is apparent that money does affect people’s lives. Money can both help people get what they want, also help make their lives feel as if they are going well, which are both…

    • 1229 Words
    • 36 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The idea that most people have in their heads of what being happy would be like usually involves money, lots of it too. As far statistics show we have tripled our buying power from 1050 to 2000 but our happiness has stayed the same. On the contrary, anxiety levels in children have gone up since 1950. So we can conclude that money does not buy happiness.…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Can Money Buy Happiness?

    • 2057 Words
    • 9 Pages

    My opinion on if money can buy happiness, is that it most certainly can. Plain and to the point if you have more money you can obtain more in the pursuit of happiness. The notion that it can’t is a poor man pacifier to comfort him on his financial situation. I would imagine that the stress level would be significantly lowered or not even applicable do to the financial success achievement. I consider the question to be a quibble because who in there right mind would not be considerably happier if there financial status was ameliorated.…

    • 2057 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    How much we earn from money and our emotional state, information and support show the correlation between those factors, determining that money can buy happiness. “$76,000 in Minnesota is reaching the “happiness benchmark” ” (Short). Which means earning more than $76,000 as a yearly salary wont improve how individuals feel day-to-day. Although this income goes towards education, security, housing, and bills of standard living, etc. what’s left over is for people’s entertainment such as material or experiential things either way money is a motivator. Having goals to reach and opportunities are what people look for, primarily having more possibilities and choices you have is an accomplishment (Short). While V, Jayaram says happiness is what you can’t buy in stores, like love, dreams, friends, and time. Arguing with this point you need to achieve again the “happiness benchmark” to be financially stable and comfortable to fulfill ones dreams in life…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    According to the article, Does Money Buy Happiness? written by Don Peck and Ross Douthat, it is clear that things that make people happy on earth include drink, food, entertainment and merchandise all of which are acquired with the availability of money. Peck and Douthat argue that despite the fact that money cannot buy everything in life, they facilitate happiness. The authors provide evidence by stating that richer nations are generally happier than poorer nations because they have stable economies while the poorer nations suffer from unstable economies (Peck and Douthat, 2003). This is because richer nations offer its people with the chance to acquire several things through credit which enables them to buy goods or services in large quantities. Consumption also enables people to acquire a sense of status because they obtain numerous items and upgrades all through their…

    • 1618 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Human and Money

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Are you unhappy and just keep thinking if I could earn a bit more money everything would be fine? Tired of hearing the saying “money can’t buy happiness”? I wish I could tell you that I am going to tell you that money can buy happiness, everyone else is wrong, but I can’t. What I can tell yo…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Happiness isn't something you can buy with money. I feel like society today is all about money. The so called "good" jobs are usually the jobs that make the most money. I know money is pretty powerful, but it still has its limits. Money can't buy us happiness nor health. In my opinion, being happy isn't as easy to achieve as people think. Sometimes, it is even possible for happiness to spread.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    1.) Money is the principal factor in bringing about a happy life as everybody strives hard to get as much money as possible.…

    • 768 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When money is good and when is it bad? Yes, money is very important for us to survive, for we can buy things that a human is needed for life, money become good when we know how to handle it, share it and save it for the future. If we are able to buy things that we needed that is one way of making us happy, for we can have the money to buy these things. Money being bad if we are focus on it, we do not care where it came from, do not care for the feelings of others, we just prefer to have money. Some people make money as their means of happiness that is really bad: forget the family and the ones they love for they are focusing on money alone and of course money being bad if we do things just to get that money. One thing to remember- balance everything and know what is right from wrong. Money has been everything today. If you earn a lot of money you can stay happy for some extent but not for a long… All you need is satisfaction in your life and money can’t satisfy you fully. Money can’t buy everything it can’t buy friends or love. So, money shouldn’t be given much more importance. A person running after money always falls. Of course it depends on person how she or he values that money. There is a quotation: “Money is not the key to happiness, but the more money you have, the easier it is to get the key made!” Angelo D’Amico. Certainly not, I think people that do not have money I mean the people that are not rich, they think they will be happier when they have a lot of money…

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Next, money would lead people to do something that makes them happier, so they should be happier when they use it. But instead of that, people who are wealth still feel unhappy. It does not mean that the person is happier when they are richer than the poor or the unfortunate. The goods that bring happiness are simply not for sale.…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays