Can Money Buy Happiness Essay

can money buy happiness Essay
In today's materialistic world, the phrase that 'money can't buy happiness' is tending to be proved
hence otherwise. Social research and surveys have shown results based on an individuals income,
health and the political scenario which is dominant in his or her region. It is quite obvious that the
gap between the privileged and the not so is growing into a great divide giving rise to different class
and status, thus defining ones social circle. It should therefore be understood how an individuals
economic status affects their personal happiness throughout all aspects of life. Many tend to refer to
this age–old quote especially when they tend to belong to sector of people who can't afford the
modern day luxuries of life. What they do not...show more content...
Of course, that is just one viewpoint. All the things mentioned above have no relation to contentment
in present conditions as even the bare necessities of life are not enough to fulfill the needs of today's
generation, as everything has a price. The reality itself is cruel yet unavoidably true, that you cannot
be fed, educated, sheltered, and you cannot have even have any enjoyment or entertainment without
some kind of economic support. The modern world has given a price tag to everything, and thus, for
many, wealth is indeed the root and ultimate happiness.
It should be highlighted that money may allow one to get all the temporary comforts of life, but
it must also be considered as to which type of person benefits from money as well. For example,
an individual dying from an incurable illness, cannot be satisfied while being in possession of a
great deal of money, when they are not even able to spend and enjoy it to its fullest content.
Furthermore, someone with vast riches may be considered lucky by many, but the individual
himself only realizes that if there is no one to share the bounties with, there is indeed no sweetness,
no matter how ripe the fruit may be. Then again, if you happen to pick out someone from the
opposite end of the upper class and elite, someone who belongs to a third class community, having a
large family, loving spouse and even the beloved pet, he or
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Can Money Buy Happiness?
Can money buy happiness? It's a philosophical question that has been discussed for centuries and
there is no simple answer. For example, Graham Hill in "Living with Less. A Lot Less" gives his
input on this highly debated topic through a multitude of short anecdotes. She asked herself not if
"Money can buy happiness," but if money could "help buy happiness" (Rubin 293). She also brings
up the idea of modest splurging and spending out as methods of using money to help one buy
happiness. Rubin describes modest splurging as not being afraid of spending money upon
activities or items if it brings one happiness (Rubin 295). Not spending out, on the other hand, is
buying things, but then just never using them and saving the items for a better day (Rubin 305).
Though Rubin addresses the use of money to help one buy happiness, I intend to complicate her
argument to understand how constant subjection to the media's influence causes our western
society to view a materialistic life as a happy one. I'm especially thinking about the media's
message that our lives are not perfect, but that we can and should buy items which can make it
perfect. Through the use of short anecdotes, Rubin is able to portray to his audience how the use
of money can help one buy happiness. He first brings up how a lot of people think of large amounts
of money as being an easy way of achieving happiness, but what truly brings one happiness is the
anticipation of events. Rubin says, "Because money permits a

Can Money Buy Happiness
In "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant, Mathilde Loisel lives a middle class life with her
husband, who is a clerk. She is unhappy about how average she thinks her life is and heavily
desires the fulfillment money can bring her. Her attitude is more about what she can do for herself
with riches and what attention she can attract, which later leads to the ruin of her life financially. In
the song "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy, featuring Bruno Mars, McCoy sings about desiring the
same kind of attention and money that Mathilde wants except he not only wants to benefit himself,
but for others as well. Wealth is not necessarily a damaging thing to desire however, it is what
people want to do with that wealth and status that...show more content...
Bruno Mars), McCoy and Mars sing about desiring money as well but their attitude towards it is
more about what they can do for others instead of only wanting material objects for their own
happiness. Mathilde and McCoy both want the perks that come with money but McCoy's take on
it is more carefree and less focused on himself. He sings, "Yeah I would have a show like Oprah/I
would be the host of everyday Christmas/Give Travie your wish list" (10–13). McCoy wants the
opportunity to have a "show like Oprah" but at the same time, his show would give away to
others. He is less focused on all the finer things he can purchase for himself but rather on ways to
fulfill both his and other people's desires as well. Also, when McCoy sings, I'll be playing
basketball with the President/Dunking on his delegates/Then I'll compliment him on his political
etiquette/Toss a couple milli in the air just for the heck of it" (30–34). McCoy wants to use the
power of money to play basketball with the President, proving that McCoy does desire wealth and
the perks that come with it. However, McCoy wants to create connections with people such as the
President and he wants to achieve goals with his money. He may not want to donate the entirety of
his possible wealth but he wants to "toss a couple milli in the air" instead of saving it and spending
it on dresses and jewels. McCoy's last words before the final chorus states, "...everybody that I love
can have a couple

Can Money Buy Happiness? Essay
There is More Than One Path to Happiness (2D) Growing up in a family where both my parents
came from poor immigrant backgrounds always made financial success a priority and when there
was no need to be frugal, my parents did seem happier. But did money buy my parents' happiness or
did money lead to their happiness? Ed Diener and Robert Biswas–Diener attempt to answer that
question in their excerpt "Can Money Buy Happiness," where they claim that "[m]oney can be a help
in attaining psychological wealth, but it should be considered in the bigger picture of what makes
people general genuinely rich (Biswas–Diener 161). Although not explicitly defined by Diener and
Biswas–Diener, "psychological wealth" is the overall measure of happiness, beyond just fiscal
affluence, including positive ties with other individuals and joyful temperaments (Biswas–Diener
168). By extending Biswas–Diener and Diener's idea of "psychological wealth" to include the
perception of what wealth is and what wealth consists of beyond monetary success, such as
achievements or fulfillment, there exist a copious number of ways to view wealth. One can be rich
in more than finances and happiness is dependent upon the perception of wealth due to money being
one of several paths, including deliberate effort and being positive, to "psychological wealth" which
leads to happiness. By changing the perception of all types of wealth, not just fiscal prosperity,
multiple pathways to happiness become apparent. "When your

"Can money buy happiness?" has been a cliche question for centuries, and there have been numerous
studies and debates on this topic. Yet, no one seems to have a definite answer. In the video Money
and Happiness, Michael Norton states explicitly that money does bring people happiness if you spent
it on other people rather than on yourself. Although his interesting and novel answer is contrary to
people's natural instinct, it makes me reflect on my past experience of spending on others, and helps
me understand the true benefits of this spending habit.
It is common that most people are more than willing to spend money on themselves, either to
fulfill their requirements or to satisfy their vanity, and I was one of those people. Being the
youngest child of the family, I was spoiled. My families, especially my grandfather, have always
bought me whatever I desired without blink of an eye. As a result, I took his affection for granted
and often spent money in a self–centered way. There were numerous times when I spent on
clothings and accessories to simply please myself. It was not until my grandfather's birthday a few
years ago that I realized it is not about spending, but the fact of spending on others that promotes true
happiness.
On that day, I went to the mall and bought a few shirts with a birthday card. Those gifts were not
costly so I did not expect much reaction from my grandfather. But instead, the moment I handed my
gift and said "Happy Birthday" to my grandfather, I

Money Can't Buy Happiness Essay
Since man invented money, the question has been asked: Can money buy happiness? Recently,
research has given us a much better understanding of the relationship between what we earn and
how we feel. Economists have been studying the links between income and happiness across
nations, and psychologists have performed innumerable studies to discover our true feelings about
money. Studies consistently show that people who agree with statements like "You will buy things
just because you want them," tend to be less satisfied with life, less happy, and more likely to be
depressed.
But, just like studies examining the connection between success and happiness, many of the findings
are correlational. As a result we can't say for sure that...show more content...
Then, after about a week, the same participants were given back their own descriptions of their
purchases and asked to reflect on it. Again, they were asked to report on their feelings in the moment.
Comparing these two groups provided a way of comparing how participants felt about two different
types of purchases. The results showed that participants felt better when they were contemplating
their experiential purchases than their material purchases.
Thinking about experience
As a result of this experiment, Van Boven & Gilovich predicted that people spend more time overall
contemplating their experiential rather than material purchases. To test this out they asked
participants to think about experiential and material purchases they were particularly happy with.
Then they were asked which they thought about more often. The results clearly showed it was the
experiential purchases people thought about more often (83%).
Why do experiences fare better than possessions?
It seems, then, that at some level we understand that our experiential purchases give us more
pleasure than our material purchases. But why is that? Van Boven (2005) suggests three reasons:
1. Experiences improve with time (possessions don't).
The reason why experiences improve with time may be because it is possible to think about
experiences in a more abstract manner than possessions. For example if you think back to a fantastic
summer from your youth, you might

Essay on Can Money Buy Happiness?
Amanda Buchner Mrs. Mellor AP English January 24, 2015 Does Money Really Bring Happiness?
John Locke once stated that all men have the right to life, liberty, and property. The author of the
Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin, changed this statement to the right to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. People have the constitutional right to be joyful and therefore strive
for it, but what is it that really brings people glee? Many people believe that the answer to this
question is simply money. They think that the more money they have, the happier they will be, but
is this necessarily true? Can a 2 by 6 inch bill really be all it takes to bring delight? Although money
can buy materials and experiences that...show more content...
You decide you're feeling lucky and finally scratch it off. You see three matching cherries with the
prize $1,000,000 underneath. Your eyes light up brighter than ever before and you scream in
excitement. You are elated by your winnings and dream of everything you can buy with your new
riches. Naturally, you're overjoyed, but you will find that the zeal you are feeling will soon wear
off. Once you spend your million on a new car or an expensive trip to Italy, you will be left with
an empty wallet and a pair of hands that are ever grasping for more. Too many people believe that
buying the newest iPhone or Xbox will bring them delight, yet this is not always true. Material
possessions bring happiness, but only for a short amount of time. Studies by Ryan Howell,
professor of psychology show that once people buy themselves something new, they are excited at
first, until they adapt to the new item being around. Once this happens, there is only one way to
feel the same way and this is with something else fresh and new. Sure, it may seem that money
will solve this problem because you will always be able to buy what you want, but this is untrue.
When the urge for the newest item emerges, the cycle just repeats itself over and over again. It is a
vicious cycle that has no true end because something new will always be hitting the markets and
people will always long to have them. Benjamin Franklin once

Money Can Buy Happiness
"Happiness is a mental state of well–being characterized by positive emotions ranging from
contentment to intense joy". Notice that "happiness" is within the range of "contentment" to
"intense joy." Every single thing in the world which brings contentment or joy costs money and
therefore, it is money which brings happiness.
Nothing can be yours without money being spent either by the person experiencing this happiness,
or by others spending money so that they can be happy. For example, even people who are
contented with sustenance and covering will realize that both food and shelter costs money. Turn on
the news and watch people dying of starvation, do they look happy? They appear to be quite sad.
When the worms of hungry brought on by...show more content...
To illustrate, surely there are many single people who are happy does that mean that marriage is
not a source of happiness? No. One thing is for sure poorness doesn't bring happiness at all. A
husband and wife bickering over how to spend their last hundred dollars is not what I would call a
happy marriage.
People say money is just paper with something printed on it but so are books and yet look at how
much joy people get out of reading novels, poetry books, comics, and the list goes on. When a
man writes a letter back home to his wife saying "I'm coming home tomorrow" after a long
business trip, she smiles with joy that paper with something printed on it sure did make her happy
likewise money too may just be paper and ink but when a man hands a check donation of one
million dollars over to the orphanage I'm sure everyone is quite happy and when a man wins the
lottery I'm sure it makes him quite happy.
Rich people complain "Everyone pretends to love me but they love my money" it is like saying that
we should strive to be poor so that people won't pretend to be our friends? I'm sure that if anyone
were to ask a set of 1000 very rich people how happy they were and 1000 poverty stricken, homeless,
hungry, sick people who happy they were on a scale of 1 to 10 the rich would definitely fair better in
terms of who is happier.
We see

Can Money Buy Happiness Essay

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