It is better to be rich than to be poor. I dare you to argue with that. Admit it! We don’t want to be struggling financially. We want to be able to buy what we want. And for us who don’t have this luxury, we simply say, “Money can’t buy happiness”. Well, it’s come as a bit of a shock, to say the least, that research has disproved it – Money can buy happiness!
Well, statistically at least, money buys happiness. According to the Gallup World Poll research, richer countries are happier. The higher the GDP, the more “happy” its citizens are. The term on the graph is not really the word “happy”, it’s “satisfaction”, and that’s probably misleading. Nonetheless, the research has astounded many. We rode that wave and did our little research on how money can buy happiness, and here’s what we found out.
If You Use It To Achieve Your Dreams
For many, the “American Dream” is no longer as inspiring as it once was – the American dream only happens when you’re asleep. Money can change that. Money can buy opportunities. It grants happiness when it materializes what we once hoped for, or make our dreams come true. But how long that happiness will last, no one can say.
If You Have People Who Love You Not For Your Money
The gratification of wealth dries up like a leaf if there is no one to share it with. Often we see that the wealthy enjoy their lavish possessions but have dysfunctional families, or have been divorced countless times. It’s because those people love their money so much that they forget the people around them. Money can make you happy if it doesn’t get in the way of relationships.
If You Spend It On Other People
Money rewards you with the best kind of happiness if you spend it on others. Making others happy inevitably makes you happier. Musician Mitchell Moffit and artist Gregory Brown even says in their video that, “if you think money and happiness are exclusive, you simply aren’t spending it right.” So, whenever you spend money on other people you are not really losing anything. It simply returns to you in the form of happiness.
If you Buy Experience, Not Material Things
Research has led psychologists to declare that people who buy new experiences are happier than those who buy material things. Nowadays, there is a rapid turnover of technology. When you buy an iPhone 4S, they suddenly have an iPhone 5. There’s always a new improved version right after you buy yesterday’s latest, and it is frustrating consumers. On the other hand, people who use their income for overseas vacations, trips to the beach, or concerts are happier and have a more optimistic view in life.
Only Up To A Certain Point
Happiness that money can buy has a threshold limit. Once you reach that limit, no amount of money can make you happier. Picture this, having the top-of-the-line laptop will definitely give you the everyday pleasure of using it but having 20 of those laptops does not make you 20 times happier. There will come a time when a million dollars means as much as five.
Happiness is not only for the rich, it is equally accessible to the less fortunate. The kind of happiness that money can buy is only temporal. There is a higher form of happiness, but definitely it is not something that money can buy.