Can money buy happiness? 2

There is a saying (I would like to say that it is an old one, but who knows for sure) that money may not buy happiness, but it is better to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle. I think this expression perfectly explains how I feel about the connection between money and happiness. I do not think that purely being rich can make you happy, but it most certainly can make your life a lot easier and give you access to resources that can help you on your way to happiness.

Of course, I would like to point out that there are a lot of very wealthy people who are certainly not happy at all. I definitely think that if you reach the top of your career and have all the things you ever wanted – the big house, the nice car, and whatever else that may be for you – you will have that nagging feeling of ‘what now? Where do I go from here?’. I think this can definitely be rather difficult to deal with. I also believe that this is the reason that there are a lot of rich people who are unhappy – they simply just don’t know where to go next or what to do with their lives from here on out. I truly believe, and this has in fact been backed up by scientific study, that there is an upper limit to how much wealth changes your life, and once you have earned a certain amount of money, any more does not really matter anymore. After that, in my opinion, it just becomes wealth hoarding and is of no benefit to you or to society. Further studies have shown that taking others into consideration and helping them is very good for our mental health, and I think that is why some extremely wealthy people such as Bill Gates and Mackenzie Bezos partake in philanthropy and donate vast amounts of their riches to different charities.

However, the vast majority of humanity is not that wealthy, and as the coronavirus pandemic continues to have a very dire effect on the world economy, so many are becoming increasingly less able to keep a roof over their head. There have been so many jobs lost and businesses closed, and some people were already working two or even three jobs to keep their heads above water before the pandemic. This definitely causes stress, anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses, even in those who were previously mentally healthy. If everyone were able to be financially stable, did not have to worry so much about money, and had proper access to affordable healthcare and other basic services, the world would be a far better place. In this sense I think money could buy some kind of happiness, or at least peace of mind and far less stress. If people did not have to worry so much about these basic things, they would arguably be much happier, or at least content.
This is certainly a complex issue. Money may not actually make anyone happy, but it certainly provides one with much better circumstances.

Ilze

Vocabulary

resource (n) – a source of information, supplies, wealth or another form of help
nag (adj.) – worrying in a persistent way; a thought or feeling that won’t subside
hoard (v) – to gather or keep a lot of things, usually in a secret or selfish way
philanthropy (n) – helping others in need, especially by donating to charities
keep one’s head above water (idiom) – to avoid experiencing financial failure or debt; to have enough money to survive