Can Money Buy Happiness?

Can+Money+Buy+Happiness%3F

Kayla Nicassio, Staff Writer

Money can buy practically anything; however, can it truly buy happiness? After the question is first posed, many would immediately respond with no, because they do not want to believe that it can. The concept is so abstract, and when said aloud at first, it can be a bit overwhelming. However, after examining the affected money can have on everyday people in this current era, as much as we want to deny it, money can indeed buy happiness.

 

How to use money is often related to materialistic items objects that you can touch, hold, and feel. You can physically touch a brand new car, but you simply cannot touch your student loans that you have been trying to pay off since the start of your college career. On paper, when it comes down to it, the numbers you see are just numbers; numbers you cannot touch; numbers you cannot feel numbers that will not go away until the price is paid.

 

If one were struggling financially, whether it be due to an overwhelming credit card bill or a monstrous house payment, money would assist quite a bit. Imagine if everything you owned was paid off instantly. Your house, your car, your credit card bill, your monthly cell phone bill, absolutely anything you can think of. What would happen if you had an unlimited amount of money? What if you had to never to worry about having enough money to get by day by day? Psychologists have proven that less stress and pressure from hounding tasks such as these can produce a better, relaxed, lifestyle, resulting in an undeniable feeling of happiness.

 

The Department of Psychology expands on this concept and justifies how money can buy one’s way to happiness. One prominent point explains that doing makes us happier than having. With more money, we can physically do things that we have always wanted to do. Everyone has at least one if not more places that they want to go in their lifetime. Whether it be Italy, France, Hawaii, The Bahamas, Japan, or Australia, money can get you to your desired destination, but in the end, the experience itself is priceless. If traveling is not your cup of tea, you can do still other activities with money that can provoke a sense of joy. For example, if you long to pursue a career in the arts, money can indeed help. One can buy a new top quality camera or lens, a new pair of ballet or jazz shoes, or a shiny new feather pen or canvas. Whatever hobby you may have, money can help you expand the opportunity to do what you love, while at the same time enabling you to relax and not become worried about if you are making enough money to continue pursuing that profession.

 

Money can provide a sense of security and safety. It is a known fact that when we feel safe, we feel happy as well. Financially stable individuals who possess a higher income than others have proven to have both a better sense of self and a more positive outlook on life. Money allows us to no longer be restrained by certain limits. We can be whatever and whoever we want to be, however, this does not mean that one should quit his/her job or prior responsibilities immediately after acquiring a great sum of money. It is crucial that money must be handled responsibly because if we become too hasty, it slips through our fingers. Without a comfortable amount money, we feel vulnerable, as if anything or anyone can take everything from us at any given time. Life becomes unpredictable. Unpredictability leads to worry, worry leads to anxiety, and anxiety leads to unhappiness. Money serves as a superhero, saving us from the unknown and the unpredictable world, carrying us to safety and security.

 

In this present era, money plays a major role in how we feel as a whole. More money means less stress and less stress leads to happiness. Today, money is the focus, and the amount that one possess often determines who that person is and how successful they are. The more successful an individual is, the more likely they are to feel fulfilled and proud. Money has come to be more than just a form of currency. Not only does it provide a feeling of security, but it also helps our psychological functioning and mental health. Money can change everything. Money can improve one’s overall well-being. Money can indeed buy happiness.