By Kaia Ryden on June 27, 2024
Do you like money? I know I do. Recently, I had the chance to survey a class full of students and every single one of them answered yes as well.
Over the past few weeks, I have been trying to figure out if money really can buy you happiness. I have been researching online, asking people around me, and using daily life situations to answer this question, and here is the answer I got is yes! Money can buy you happiness, whether or not it’s long-lived is another question.
It’s really an issue of how you use it. Money gains you access to society. Whether it be clothes, food, or home decor, you need money to attain them.
A study done by Michigan State University points out an unsurprising fact: poverty makes people unhappy. One could only then assume that having money would make these people happier. And why is that? The answer may seem obvious, but it goes a bit deeper than you would first think.
Money gives people a sense of safety and security. Things like being able to pay your bills in advance, or paying off student loans, give people a chance to breathe a huge sigh of relief. Money can give you a stability that many people crave.
Money can also help you feel in control. Spending money the way you want to can help you relieve stress. The Cleveland Clinic says that “…sadness is generally associated with a sense that situations are in control of the outcomes in our life, rather than life being in our own hands. The choices and outcomes inherent in the act of shopping can restore a feeling of personal control and autonomy.” If you’ve ever wondered why some people like shopping so much, this might be a part of the reason.
Feeling in control can make you happy, as can the expectation of a reward. Thinking of a reward, which can be monetary or otherwise, can give you dopamine. Psychology Today explains that dopamine isn’t released in response to a reward, but the anticipation of that reward. Dopamine is connected to happiness, so when you get a rush of dopamine, you’re getting a rush of happiness.
Money is a big part of our lives, and what we need to learn is how to use it properly. The next time you are about to buy something, I want you to think: will this really give me happiness?