Can money buy happiness ?

Can money buy happiness ? This is a question asked a zillion times over and researched heavily and the answer has been a resounding NO.

Money cannot buy happiness. Well, in the short term it can but over the long term, it calls for a disappointment. Studies have revealed that humans are never satisfied with what they get. They want more.

So if they get more, why are the not happy?

Money can buy basic needs

Economists believe that once money meets all your basic human needs, more money does not bring in long term happiness. Its true that abject poverty can make one unhappy, after all, if you cannot get three meals a day, shelter or clothing, which are basic necessities of life, you are bound to be unsatisfied and unhappy.

But what about those who are living comfortably? If one is staying in a two bedroom house which meets all his basic needs, the amount of happiness he will get from moving to a three bedroom house will not be paramount and long lived.

One might be happy for the short term – the excitement and contented feeling of owning a three bedroom house will kick in, but very quickly you adjust to this new found wealth and begin to ask for more.

That’s when the disappointment sets in. We always think that the more money we have, something out there will make us more happier.

Problems more money brings

Studies done in the US have revealed that we always compare our lifestyle with others and think that if we earn more than our peers or neighbours, we will afford everything they are buying and so, we will be more happier. Well, the neighbour also thinks the same.

More money calls for a very hectic lifestyle. You buy a new car or a new TV and then after your short lived satisfaction is over, you think of replacing that with a new car or a new TV, thinking that the new purchase will bring you more happiness.

To make matters worse, you next door neighbour or your best friend just upgraded his! Well, relax, both of you are not happy!! The new car or new TV will bring a fresh air of satisfaction for you both but the air will leave by the nearest window very soon.

Comparing ourselves with peers and purchasing what they did, gets us into a vicious circle of life where more is less and you begin to stress yourself to the point where you think, “I am earning more but why am I not happy?”

Happiness, they say, is a state of the mind. You can be happy by going on a shopping binge and buying yourself whatever you want, but this is a temporary state of happiness. After you have possessed the goodies, you return to your normal state of mind.

Money can buy basic needs, not happiness

How to be permanently happy ?

Behavioral economics says that to be permanently happy, one needs to eat right, stay healthy and be positive. One tends to be happier when he/she spends more time with family and friends and cherishes those moments.

So your new TV will be talk of the town for sometime only but a evening well spent with your better half  or your children is an experience that will linger on for a long time – you can talk about the latter for years to come but you will stop talking about your TV after it has offered you your short moments of satisfaction.

It’s a choice we have to make for ourselves.