Money Listens

Money won’t buy happiness, but it will pay the salaries of a large research staff to study the problem. –Bill Vaughan

Maybe Money Does Buy Happiness After All was the article that caught my eye in the New York Times Business section. It compared what’s known as the Easterlin paradox with a new study. The Easterlin paradox says that more money doesn’t make you happier. Two researchers from the Univ. of Pennsylvania disagree. They published a study that says more money does bring happiness, but it’s not guaranteed.

So, who do we believe?

The Times article skirts the question by concluding that “affluence is a pretty good deal.” Money can allow you to visit relatives in far away places, travel, work less, spend more time with friends or on hobbies that you enjoy. Duh!

I’ve said before that everyone needs enough money for life’s necessities. And a little more for a few fun things. But happiness, that overall feeling of positive emotions and leading a purposeful, meaningful life, won’t come from more money. It comes from those experiences that money can’t buy.

But being a poor money manager can lead to stress, anxiety, jealousy, and other decidedly non-happy emotions. For myself (and most Americans), if I am content with what money I have, manage it as well as I can, and spend it on the most meaningful things to me, I’ll be happy.

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