The Outsiders: Can People Control Their Own Happiness And Money?

How often do you wake up worrying about money? How often do your loved ones worry about money? How often have you heard, “if only I had the money?” How often do you feel that more money would solve all your problems and would make you happy? What if I told you that you were right, to an extent. Author’s across the discussion of happiness have tried to answer the simply stated, yet complicatedly answered question, “Can Money Buy Happiness?” Authors Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diner attempt to answer the question in their piece of the same name, by explaining that “Yes, money buys happiness…but it must be considered in the bigger picture of what makes people genuinely rich” (Biswas-Diener 160-161). This idea that fiscal wealth is a path to happiness

Can anyone be truly happy? A economist name Richard A. Easterlin once said “...Although richer people were happier than poorer people in the same country, people in weather countries were not necessarily happier than those in poorer ones.” Which means that wealth doesn’t bring people happiness, it it how people spend their lives that bring them so much happiness. When people look back at the past the ones that help others are more happier than the ones that try and help themselves.

Money and Happiness Why most of rich people are not happy with what they have? Happiness is the feeling which people feel it when they are satisfied with what they have even though these people are poor or rich. Money is the way that people use it to bring things which they can buy it by money. Sharon Begley in her article “Why Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness” states that sometimes there are relationship between money and happiness because people always try to spend less money when they want to buy somethings.

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.

At the end of the day, the affluent are still not satisfied with their wealth or material items. Source D provides a great example. Even though the couple has purchased everything they could possibly want, they still feel “something is missing.” What they are missing is not a tangible object. It is not something one could go to a store and buy. They cannot obtain happiness in a nice little box on a store shelf. There is no price on happiness. Source A believes “happiness is desirable in itself and never for the sake of something else.” Nothing can supplement happiness. True happiness is “something final and self-sufficient.” People with affluenza can never find this happiness through the constant purchasing of more stuff. Happiness is achieved in many different ways for different individuals but not through wealth. For example, the mother in Source I begins to understand this when she becomes older one Christmas. She realizes no matter how many gifts she may receive,

Studies have shown, only 1-in-3 Americans are very happy with their life. The two-thirds that are not happy tend to believe one of two things: that they are not happy because they do not own or have as many things compared to another person, and because they fill their inner void of happiness with money. The truth is money can buy many, many things, except happiness.

If you were to ask the average person if they believed whether or not money can buy one’s happiness, many would likely say no; but if you were to take a closer look at how they choose to spend their money, their purchases would say otherwise. Their purchases would likely say that money can instead buy you many things that make you happy, or at least temporarily. Our society condones the American dream to follow one’s desires because anyone who obtains any level of power, pleasure, and wealth is likely to also achieve a satisfying and successful life. “In a capitalist economy and a culture of consumerism and materialism, are we not bombarded with messages promising happiness through wealth and possessions? Aren’t we every day indoctrinated by advertisements promising bliss through the clothes we wear, the cell phones we buy, and even the beer we drink?”

Bob Marley once said, “Money is a number and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for happiness will never end.” We should see money for what it is, a means, and not an end. The Great Gatsby teaches that money is not a sufficient means to happiness, and when you have too much of it, can lead to a sad and empty life. I believe that some wealth is necessary to happiness, but not a exorbitant amount.

Money can't buy happiness, so the cliche goes. Ross Gittins’ 2014 article “Money can buy happiness, but not as much as we think,” asserts that most people haven’t found happiness through money because they didn’t know “how to get more satisfaction from spending” (Gittins). I disagree, to a point. In the beginning, money can provide a short term cushion of happiness, but overtime, staying comfortable isn’t the same as being truly happy. I believe that long term happiness is not a matter of how you use your money, but rather a matter of why. Money is rather a means to an end, and it is this end that determines one’s happiness. Finding what will truly make you happy determines whether or not money plays a role in your happiness.

Does money control society? Is money the way to pursue happiness? Many people believe that money controls society by how you need money to succeed in life. Do you really think that you need money to pursue happiness. In the play a raisin in the sun there is an cetern character Walter lee that believes money is the only way to have happiness.what do you think?

Many believe money to be the root of happiness, however studies show a somewhat different conclusion. Those with money are happier than those in poverty (but only because of the assured security of their health and well- being), but once people begin making up to a certain amount of money, more does not equal increased happiness and decreased negative emotion. “The difference the marginal dollar makes in reducing negative emotions starts to fall off around $70,000, is very low by $160,000 and hits zero around $200,000.”(CNBC). This shows just how little money actually equates to increased elation in the grand scheme of life. In fact, those who think money is the root of happiness are often more unhappy because they will always be disappointed when their happiness levels do not rise with their financial levels. Those with less money, however (not in poverty) learn to appreciate life for what they have, they become more grateful and have less desires that will lead them into that common cycle of dissatisfaction that their richer counterparts may

Money and happiness are linked positivity in the psychology of many cultures and in the economy as well, yet money can be observed playing a sociological role in the ebb and flow of happiness in society. When contrasting the benefits of a dream career against a path to a more attainable means to financial safety, often individuals cognitively associate happiness with money. Does money create happiness or does it at least create a path to happiness? In the book, “Happiness around the World: The Paradox of Happy Peasants and Miserable Millionaires,” Carol Graham confronts this issue. She admits:

Money is powerful in the sense that it can buy things. There are many things, materialistic and non-materialistic that people need for their satisfaction for which they risk their lives so that they can live a satisfied and blissful life. On the other hand, money may buy you happiness up to a certain level, but there are a number of other factors that have a more influential impact on the happiness of any individual, for example marriage. However, marriage again depends on money for the arrangements and other requirements. Therefore money is a necessity that contributes to the level of happiness. Maybe if one actually earns the money, as opposed to being handed it, he has a greater respect for it and therefore it makes him happier for longer.

We all have heard the phrase “money can’t buy you happiness.” That phrase is a lie because mostly everything in today’s society revolves around money. The things people like revolve around money too. What a coincidence? Let’s say a person is upset so they go buy their favorite ice cream because they know it will make them happy. That person had the money to invest in something that made them happy. Or on an even bigger let’s say someone has been fantasizing about a car and they finally get enough money to purchase their dream car. This person is likely to be very happy. If it was not for the money, they would not have gotten that dream car, so basically the money made them happy. The truth is money makes people happy.

There are many people claim that there is not any relationship between money and happiness. However, I believe that there is a direct relationship between money and happiness. Research shows that being able to provide our basic needs and higher-level wants leads us to a happy life. The relationship between money and happiness is like the relationship between food and body. “The importance of money in human life is similar to the importance of food for the body. Just like you can’t live even for a few days without food, you can’t survive for long without money.”(Singh, 2015).Having access to our necessities, being able to participate in leisure activities, and being able to help our friends, are things which make us happy; and we need money for having them.So, for being happy in our life,