Money affords us the liberty to stress less about life expenses, allowing us to buy the things we need or like, so, it is no surprise when some say it does buy happiness. But does it though?
If this question was posed to someone in serious need of money, chances are they will say it can buy them happiness and the response might be the same or different if posed to someone with a lot of money.
So, can it really buy happiness?
This is a question that has been a topic of discussion for many years and to this day it continues and cannot be pinned down to an easy answer.
Professor Jon Jachimowicz of the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School says money does buy happiness. The professor adds that money has the ability to make our lives easy as having it allows us to smoothly pass through life hurdles. Whether it is used for “a small nuisance, like dodging a rainstorm by ordering up an Uber, or a bigger worry, like handling an unexpected hospital bill,” having the comfort of knowing that you have access to it gives some sort of comfort, he adds.
Global news publication Insider echos the professors adding that money somehow affords us a certain degree of life satisfaction, depending on how wealthy you are and the manner in which you spend it.
Jon adds that the right way to look at whether money and happiness are intertwined is to not only looking at the happiness that it can bring but to also think of all “the worries that it can free us from.”
A study conducted by the professor which involved 522 participants who kept a diary for 30 days, tracking daily events and their emotional responses to them proved that:
Money reduces intense stress – Not much difference was found on how frequent the subjects experienced distressing events regardless of how much they earn, the number of daily frustrations were similar. The higher income subjects however, “experienced less negative intensity from those events.”
More money brings greater control – Higher income earners felt they had more control over negative events something that can reduce their stress. “People with ample incomes felt more agency to deal with whatever hassles may arise.”
Higher incomes lead to higher life satisfaction – Research found that subjects with higher incomes were generally more satisfied with their lives.
Also see: Money saving 101: Steps to help you save more
