Can money bring you happiness? 6 Thoughts

Can money bring you happiness ?  

I believe money can only bring you a limited amount of happiness. Here are some thoughts on this topic.

Introduction

Do you need money to be happy? 

Everyone has heard that “money can’t buy you happiness.”

But it’s an obvious fact that not having a sufficient amount of money to meet the daily needs of you and your family will undoubtedly cause you to be stressed and unhappy.

If you are in the unfortunate state of not having enough money for food, accommodation, or heating, getting some money will certainly reduce stress and raise your happiness levels. 

But an excess of money will not necessarily make you happier than other people. 

So can money buy you happiness or not? 

Money can only bring you a limited amount of happiness

Studies have shown that having enough money to meet your own and your family’s needs does, indeed, bring happiness. 

No big surprise there, really.

People who live in poverty are generally less happy than people whose needs are met. If you can pay your bills and make ends meet financially, you will succeed in feeling happy.

But having an abundance of money does not equate to excessive happiness

However, having more money than you need will not bring you additional happiness. 

Money and happiness are not proportional. 

Someone who has enough money to buy a big house and several cars is not necessarily happier than someone who has exactly what they need.

Excess money brings its own stress

You might not think it, but having excess money can bring its own type of stress and unhappiness.

Excess money can cause worry about security. It could be physical security in terms of someone harming you or your family to take your money off you. Or it could be virtual security in that someone may try to scam you and empty your bank account.

Having excess money may cause you problems with parenting. Most people want their kids to have everything they want, but you have to balance that against spoiling them. You may create a child with no values and no aims or goals. 

Still, these worries might not bother you. You might be willing to take the risk that having excess money will be difficult. It depends on your personality.

Anyway, it’s not about what money comes in; it’s about what goes out

It’s not so much the amount of money you make that makes you happy, but what you spend and how you feel about spending it. 

There are some principles for managing money that can help you be happier. Where you spend your money and who receives it can be critical to whether you have gained anything from the money.

Being wasteful can cause unhappiness in itself. It can cause you distress at your behavior, and even worse, you can waste so much that you don’t have enough for essential living.

For money to bring happiness, you should spend it on experiences, not things

Buying more things might make you happy in the moment, but it may not make you happy in the long term. 

Although it may make you feel good to invest in things that will last, studies show that we tend to get used to what we get. Owning these things doesn’t make us happy indefinitely. 

We’re more likely to be happy in the long run if we spend our money on experiences that give us lasting memories. 

Whether that means going on vacation, either alone or with family if you have one, or taking time now and then to do something fun for yourself is up to you.

But be sure to create experiences, the memories of which will last to the end of your days. Memories last a long time, whereas things fade over time.

Instead of, or perhaps as well as, chasing more money, spend some of it on experiences that make you happy. Or experiences that make people you love happy.

No one wishes they had spent more time at the office on their last day.

Give money away to create happiness for yourself.

Giving is one of the most satisfying things you can do with your money.

Whether it’s for family, a friend in need, or a worthy cause, find a way to give back and share what you have. 

You don’t even need to tell anyone. Spending money in this way can bring you powerful feelings of happiness and will pay off for you in the long run.

Can money bring you happiness summary

So, can money bring you happiness?

The truthful answer is yes, money can bring you happiness if you use it correctly. 

Having money will help you avoid the stress that can diminish your happiness because you can’t meet the basic needs of yourself and your family. 

You don’t need a lot of money to be happy, and many people are happy if they have enough money for their basic needs. After all, happiness is a mindset once your basic needs are met.  

But money can also make you unhappy for the reasons listed earlier. Having the right balance will bring you the most satisfaction and happiness in all of life.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article on “can money bring you happiness?” Regardless of how much money you have, you can use these tips to achieve the level of happiness you desire and live a life filled with joy.

See my other articles on how to be happy, and the 7 secrets of happy people.

Please consider leaving a comment.  It would be great to hear what you think.