Aside from the obvious things money can buy, money does indeed buy happiness. It allows someone to have opportunities, connections and availability. Access to cash in this world is necessary to achieve something. Without money, it is difficult to achieve goals and purpose. With all this being considered, these things will make a person happy.
The twist to this phenomenon is that people must use money correctly to feel happiness. One way to use money positively would be to invest in experiences. Life is full of numerous experiences, including places and people to see. Psychological research says that if one includes buying experiences in their life, it will improve their well-being. This, in comparison to buying materialistic things like cars, clothes or laptops, makes a person feel more elevated. The first to highlight this idea was Thomas Gilovich. In his research, he found that experiencing new and exciting things left people with long-lasting memories to treasure.
Treating others will likely also deliver a sense of happiness. Even if it is the smallest amount of money, it is still effective. An example of this would be standing in a McDonalds drive-thru and paying for someone’s meal. This would make them feel cheerful, causing them to return the favor and pay for the car behind them. This causes a chain of kindness and brings each and every person that contributes some sense of joyfulness.
Expressing oneself through spending can also activate personal happiness. Whether it be through spending money on shoes, pokemon cards or even perfumes, it buys a person a piece of mind and comfort. For some people, spending money is a form of therapy. That could be an example of consistent shopping, a love for cooking/trying new foods, or something random like collecting vintage cameras to use. All of these things and hobbies that people do for themselves involve money to make them happy.
Ultimately, it becomes clear that money does buy happiness. This is done in several ways that are positive and healthy. Aside from what has been discussed, other feelings that money can make someone feel are comfort, favourability and adventurousness. All of these examples support the fact that money buys happiness as long as it is used in a positive or enhancing way to life.
