Can Money Buy You Happiness? Spending money to reduce our time commitments is wise because voluntary activities are more enjoyable than those that are required of us.
Although having money can occasionally make people with difficult behaviours even worse, in general, being able to afford your basic needs as well as your wants and needs leads to a better quality of life.
Now, we are not saying that having money would solve all of your problems, but when you have money, every problem that money can fix vanishes. This is the answer to how money buys you happiness.
When we examine the amenities that money may purchase, such as pricey dinners and opulent holidays, we may question if money can buy happiness. Cash is essential in another crucial manner, however: According to recent studies, it helps people avoid many of the daily difficulties that alleviate stress.
Money may provide us peace of mind and control by enabling us to purchase our way out of unanticipated hiccups in the road, whether they are minor inconveniences like avoiding a downpour by calling an Uber or more significant concerns like handling an unexpected hospital cost.
The question of whether money can buy happiness has been the subject of extensive research, and both sides of the argument can be supported.
Truth be told, it would seem that close relationships and life experiences, as opposed to material possessions, can also contribute to true happiness.
Nevertheless, evidence also points to the fact that those with lower wages are more prone to depression and other mental health problems.
So let’s look at some evidence that suggests that having money actually makes people happier and how it accomplishes this. Here are a few points that explain how money buys you happiness-
Youu are less likely to experience depression because of the financial stability
People who live in poverty are more likely to face health problems, with depression being the most common, according to a Gallup study from 2012.
In comparison to 15.8 percent (or half as many!) of those who are not living in poverty, approximately 31% of people who are poor reported getting a diagnosis of depression at some point.
Not borrowing money will allow you to enjoy life
You don’t have to focus on earning money as much as you do when you already have it in order to meet your basic demands. You can feel life more fully.
Additionally, happy people socialise with other happy people because they share similar interests.
How money buys you happiness- not only you get materialistic things but you may buy priceless experiences
On a different subject, we have a valid point on how money can make you happy. Numerous studies have found no evidence that buying “things” makes people happier.
The book Stumbling on Happiness asserts that, in terms of happiness, investing in experiences is a wise move. Adventures are undoubtedly expensive, whether you’re hanging gliding on the Sunshine Coast or swimming with dolphins in the Indian Ocean.
You can invest money in other people is the answer to the question of how money buys you happiness
When you are having trouble making ends meet, you usually are not thinking about assisting others.
However, using your money to help others is a definite approach to happiness, according to the Harvard study Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off.
As part of the study, students were given money to spend on either themselves or others by the end of the day.
According to the findings, those who were assigned to spend the money on someone else experienced better daytime feelings than those who had the option to spend it on themselves.
How money buys you happiness- spending it on smaller pleasures rather than big-ticket items
The theory of evolution can account for this. Our species’ survival has always depended on our ability to adapt to the current situation. If a prehistoric man were confined in a forest all day searching for fruit and nuts while bored and still alive, he would want to preserve the ecosystem. There was no immediate urgency to go.
It wasn’t necessary to go straight away and do something else that might result in one dying too soon. Therefore, after getting used to a new status quo, we frequently go back to our default state of contentment.
How money buys you happiness- buying time with money can make you happier
Since they spend more time on time-consuming activities like shopping and socialising in addition to working harder to earn their higher wages, people with higher salaries typically experience more time stress than those with lower salaries.
Although buying more time could make you happier and less stressed, not all time is made equal.
Spending money to reduce our time commitments is wise because voluntary activities are more enjoyable than those that are required of us.
How money buys you happiness- there is a sense of content and pride
People who are struggling financially often feel ashamed, which makes them procrastinate solving their issues and frequently makes them worse. According to the research team, these shame spirals are caused by the idea that an individual is responsible for their personal financial situation rather than other societal and environmental variables.
