By Reece B.
There is an ongoing debate about whether money buys happiness. The simple answer is yes, money does buy happiness up to a certain point. Think about getting new shoes or shopping or getting something you’ve always wanted. These things are only obtainable with money and they bring joy and happiness. If you give someone who's less fortunate than you $100,000$ how do you think they would feel? More happy? Or sad that they got money to provide for their family? The same question could be asked to yourself too. I think the obvious answer is that anyone would take that money and be grateful.
Let me give a good personal example that explains exactly what I mean. Whenever I'm at a fast food restaurant and my friends buy food and I don't, I'm left feeling hungry and jealous. We can all agree that they were happier than me at that moment because they had money to buy food. Although this happiness is temporary it's a good example of my claim on how money can buy happiness up to a certain point.
One thing I want you to notice is how I said up to a certain point. This is because yes, all rich people aren't happy and that's just a known thing. I decided to look up data on how salaries affect happiness, mainly how the salary gaps affect happiness. One thing I learned from reading this article is how much of an improvement in overall happiness comes from moving up in salaries. This specific study showed results from people who participated in a survey from around the US and showed that going from around an average salary of $30,000 a year to $100,000 a year improved happiness. It improved the overall health and moods of people tremendously but that couldn't be said the same for people who are already making close to $100,000 a year. It was surprising when I saw that people with this high of a salary's happiness didn't improve as much, going from $100,000 to anywhere between $300,000-$500,000. I believe this is because with that much money a lot of people are already able to buy things for themselves they would enjoy. It makes sense knowing that at $30,000 some people live paycheck to paycheck and aren't able to spoil themselves with gifts or treats. This further extends my claim that It does but only up to a certain point. Personally, if offered a million dollars versus getting offered one hundred dollars I'll tell you right now I would never complain. I would definitely be more happy knowing I could buy things that bring me joy and spend my money on others which also makes me happy. One other study I read states, “Money is important to happiness. Ask anyone who doesn’t have it. Having a higher income, for example, can give us access to homes in safer neighborhoods” This is very true and I guarantee some of you have never thought about it that way. You're able to feel safer, feel more connected to a community and show people how much you appreciate them with gifts. I don't think anyone would like living on the streets if offered to live in a gated community with a good school system as well. Overall I think the argument of money doesn't buy happiness is just dumb considering the world is designed around money.