In the article, “How to Buy Happiness” by Sonja Lyubomirsky it talks about the relationship between money and happiness. It states it matters more how we spend our money then how much we possess. Money does provide us with certain opportunities, luxury, status, respect, a better job etc but this happiness does not always last for so long. It’s almost as if we are programmed to believe the more money we have the happier we are. But even the person with the most money can be the most miserable.
Rather than going out and buying a new pair of shoes, let’s go on out and buy an experience! Experiences with friends and family can last a lifetime. Material things are exciting for that one moment but soon the excitement starts to die out. But with an experience those memories will live on with you and will allow you to relive it with the people you experienced them with. These experiences will also allow us to not compare them to others because people tend to compare their lives to others.
Spending money on others and on need-satisfying goals can increase one’s happiness. Spending money on others allows someone to do something for someone other than themselves. Spending money on need-satisfying goals may be something they’ve been wanting to do for themselves that will benefit them greatly in the future or spending money in order to do something for someone else, such as charity. Also having time to do all these things would help in creating these experiences and having time to do all these things.
If only money could actually buy us happiness. It’s not about how much money we have but what we do with it matters so much more.