People who don’t have a lot of money try to console themselves by saying the phrase that probably exists in most of the widely spoken languages in the world, “money can’t buy you happiness.”
Happiness is a feeling and you literally can’t buy it, but people are starting to realize that they were tricked into thinking that money is meaningless, because the thing that makes the world go round can help a lot with having a comfortable life and reducing your anxiety about utility and medical bills, rent or mortgage, and actually just survival.
More info: Reddit
A Reddit user expressed the thought that nearly all their problems could be solved by having more money and created a discussion on how money and happiness relate
Image source: David Baron (not the actual photo)
The proverb that you can find in the Dictionary of American Proverbs published by Oxford University Press in 1992 reads as follows: “Money won't buy happiness, but it will go a long way in helping you.”
It seems that a lot of people share this sentiment more than just the first part of the saying, as is evident from a thread on Reddit started by WelcherWelcher72x when they stated that 99 percent of their problems would be solved by money.
Image source: WelcherWelcher72x
The majority of commenters were absolutely on the same page and believed money brings comfort and freedom, which in turn brings happiness
They believe that in most cases, money does buy happiness, and if they were filthy rich, the redditor wouldn’t need to worry about bills and would be able to occupy themselves with activities that they actually like.
In less than 24 hours, the rant on the antiwork subreddit was upvoted over 44k times and 3.5k people joined the conversation. While there were a couple of people who didn’t see a problem why the Original Poster couldn’t just work to earn, most commenters agreed that money would make them happier.
They admitted that the saying "money can't buy happiness" had some truth to it, but when you don't have any, it is always on your mind
Even if people didn’t become happy having all that money, they pointed out that they would rather be sad and rich instead of sad and poor as at least then they wouldn’t feel the anxiety of being in debt or worrying about whether they would be able to go to the doctor or have anything left to eat if their car broke down.
Money buys comfort and that makes people happy. Having no financial worries makes people happy. Being able to treat family and friends makes us happy. Traveling and having hobbies bring us a sense of fulfillment. To achieve those things, you need to have money.
Because you can't escape the worries associated with the lack of it, like unpaid bills, rent, car payments and food as well
Not having comfort and freedom is what makes poor people unhappy and unsatisfied. It’s hard to be happy when you are constantly tired because you work two jobs that only allow your ends to meet, if that.
The people in the comments created a discussion that they actually don’t need to be crazy rich, but just have enough to have a stable life because they agreed that past a certain point, you don’t need more money and it won’t make you happier.
Once you have covered the necessary expenses and bought yourself some nice things, there is no point in keeping the number in your bank account growing. When you have money, more money won’t buy you happiness, but when you don’t have money, having it will open a new life for you.
Money is the tool to reach for happiness and spend it on good food, therapy, hobbies and traveling after you've already paid for necessities
Image source: rawpixel
Many redditors shared their own success stories of how they found a good job after finishing their studies or got a pay boost after working in the field for a while. They all agreed that they were a lot happier when they could afford things than when they were broke because they acquired peace of mind.
They also admitted that once they started living comfortably but still were earning good money, the extra savings didn’t make a difference in their lives. It didn’t make them happier than they already were, but it didn’t bring sadness either.
Many redditors didn't think they need that much money and actually agreed that when you have enough, more of it doesn't necessarily bring more joy
There have actually been studies conducted in the aim to find out what is the minimum amount of money that makes a person satisfied and not needing a lot more. The most influential study on the topic was published in 2010 by Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton.
The scientists suggested that “high income buys life satisfaction but not happiness, and that low income is associated with low life evaluation and low emotional well-being” but the number they found to make an average American content with their lives was $75k. Having in mind inflation, this number in 2022 would be about $102k.
What the research also revealed was that if a person’s income surpassed this amount, their satisfaction wouldn’t grow proportionally and wouldn’t further affect their well-being. However, new studies are challenging this conclusion.
So when poor people complain about not being rich enough, they are actually talking about simply not being able to survive and live with dignity
Image source: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)
Some people who succeeded in bringing themselves up shared that they just proved themselves right in thinking money would bring peace of mind
A 2020 research article by Matthew A. Killingsworth states, “For incomes up to $80,000/y, larger incomes were associated with significantly higher levels of four of the five positive feelings (confident, good, interested, and proud) and significantly lower levels of all negative feelings (afraid, angry, bad, bored, sad, stressed, and upset).”
But the data shows that people who earn more than $80k a year feel the same way and there wasn't any “evidence for a plateau around $75,000, with experienced well-being instead continuing to climb across the income range” as the previous research showed.
These opinions are supported by research and having a stable high income is associated with positive emotions
Regardless of whether there's a happiness or satisfaction plateau or there isn’t, one truth stays the same: when a person rises from poverty and earns enough money to pay for necessities and also have money for extra expenses, their emotional state will be in a better place in comparison to people who live in poverty or have to count every penny.
We would like to hear your personal takes. If you had more money, would it make your life easier? Have you already experienced this? Why do you think people like repeating that money can’t buy you non-materialistic things? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!