Opinion

MARTIN: Money can buy happiness

For the 20 years that I have been living, I’ve heard quotes like, “You only live once” and “Money can’t buy happiness”. 

The second quote “Money can’t buy happiness” has always been one that I questioned. Many questions come in my head such as, “Why can’t it buy you happiness? Does it depend on what you are spending your money on? Does more money make your feel happier? As I think of those questions, I concluded that yes money can buy you happiness. The reason why it can buy you happiness are that you can get things that you want in life and it can directly boost your self-esteem.

Of course, you cannot buy happiness off the shelf of a store, but you can buy things that have value to you. Material things often make some happy about their life. In the world we live in today, many people need and want many material things for happiness. 

For example, rap artists buy all kinds of cars and jewelry to accommodate the lifestyle they want to live. For many this fulfills their life and improves it tremendously. Maybe they need money to fill the other empty parts of their life where they do not have true happiness. For a normal person who works a nine to five, smaller things in life may make them happier. Being able to buy a dog that they can bond with is a great example. Something as small as a lavender candle bringing a great smell into your home that warms your heart can make you happy. 

Secondly, having more money and income can bring you happiness because it can positively affect your self-esteem. A survey in 2017 by Gallup, which is an American analytics and advisory company, surveyed people from around the world to see their thought process. According to survey results, emotional well-being may be reached when a person earns between $60,000 and $75,000. 

This study suggests that money can buy happiness when using it for basic needs. Not bring able to provide for yourself can often bring in a doubt of your own worth. Lack of money can bring problems of bad influences into your life, too. Not making ends meet can lead to depression. Being depressed about not being able to pay the bills is a real thing. It often leads to drugs and alcohol. This is a very possible outcome for people that are not the strongest minded. 

To simply put it, money can buy you happiness. Does happiness come in at a certain price range? No. 

Does money accommodate things in life that make you happy? Yes. 

Money can get you all those material things that you have always wanted regardless of the price. In direct effect, it can boost your self-esteem. With that being said, what you do with your money does correlate with the happiness you bring yourself. To further push the point, ask yourself this question: 

Has buying something you wanted not ever made you happy?