Can Money Buy Happiness?

Too many people are mistaken in believing that money can buy them happiness. And then there are those who protest that making money shouldn’t be that important — that there are other things in life far more rewarding than money. In a way this group is right, but they’re missing part of the big picture.

Because although money really doesn’t buy happiness and some of the best things in life are free, there is a catch to this: money is a means to that end you’re seeking — a vehicle for putting you in a better position to lead that more pleasurable life you’re after.

The hard reality is that if you’re under constant financial pressure, it’s hard to enjoy the beautiful, free things life has to offer. You might not be someone who can be considered poor; you might not-be on the verge of starvation and may in fact be in the category of the well-off; and yet, you may still also be struggling for financial survival —on your own level. For example, a laborer out of work may be spending a sleepless night worrying about where he could borrow a few dollars to feed his family, while a businessman whose business has gone sour may also be losing sleep pondering where he could loan a couple of millions to keep his company from closing shop. If, like these people, your mind is cluttered with thoughts of financial insecurity, unpaid bills, long-overdue debts, threats of litigation for these I.O.U.s and lack of income and achievement, you wouldn’t even notice those freebies that are out there. In Today’s tension-filled world, it’s impractical for the average person to maintain hopes for happiness without first achieving some degree of financial success.

So, what then can money buy? Perhaps, the most important thing it can buy is freedom.

That’s right — freedom. Not total of course, since this is impossible so long as governments exist. But even so, you can enjoy more freedom with money than without it. Just having peace of mind is already a great liberation in itself — being free to think pleasant thoughts instead of mentally hassling over financial problems.

Achieving financial success is therefore necessary to enable you to do what you want to do in life, to give you the freedom to concentrate on your search for happiness, to act out of your choice instead of chance or the choice of others. Only you can be the judge of how much financial success it will take to obtain the freedom you desire: for one person, this might mean making two hundred fifty thousand dollars a year; for another, it could mean being no less than a millionaire. Whatever the case you can now see why all of us are obliged to join in the pursuit of financial success: but it doesn’t mean that the effort to achieve it should make your life a living hell in the process.

The one thing you must guard against from the outset is setting yourself up for a big disillusionment. People who don’t have money but dream about the day when they’ll hit it big all too often are expecting something from financial success that it can’t bring them — it’s like the person who makes the mistake of expecting more from people than they are able to give. Instead of the fantasyland you envision, the only thing you’ll find when you finally get there will just be the real world all over again — only, on a higher financial level.

Yes, making money does matter; in fact it’s great, because it rids you of many burdens which can sap your limited supply of time and energy, thus freeing you to concentrate on the pleasantries of life. But if you lose sight of the reality that money only represents a means to an end — an aid to your search for happiness — you’ll probably never really be free to enjoy life. It becomes a vicious cycle. You seek more and more success, without stopping to figure out what you’re actually after.