Money & Happiness

Money and happiness

A practical measure of human well-being is life satisfaction. Money and happiness have strong correlation because people assume that having more wealth exhibits a higher likelihood of happiness. Hedonism theory considers happiness as a subjective feeling. It states that happiness means maximization of pleasure and minimization of pain. People who are in less pain appear to be happier compared to the people who are in more pain. Hedonism has close relevance to Bentham's theory of utilitarianism that indicates that happiness depends on the maximization of utility. desire theory defines happiness as one's ability to fulfil wants. Pleasure has a strong correlation with wants. According to this theory, money can buy happiness because people have resources for buying things they like. This indicates a positive relationship between money and happiness. Wealthy holds the capacity of fulfilling wants (Bruckner 2013). On the other hand poor lack the financial capacity of buying what they want that causes unhappiness. Fulfilment of a desire leads to happiness irrespective of the amount. One’s desire to earn money is influenced by the feeling of happiness.

My personal happiness is linked to money because whenever I feel the urge of getting something it depends on my buying capacity. In a situation of extreme thirst I attain satisfaction only when I manage to buy a cold drink that involves a feeling of pleasure. Similarly, I relate my happiness with money because I have goals like buying a car, home and living a good life. All these things have a direct impact on happiness and depend on money. In situations when I am unable to fulfil my want due to lack of financial capacity I experience dissatisfaction and unhappiness. I believe that "Once we get our foot in the door with some temporal thickness to desire satisfaction and the associated well-being” (Xiao, Tang, & Shim 2009).

Considering my situation I have financial goals that are linked to my state of happiness.

In my family happiness is linked to financial goals because most of our material desires depend on money. We visit different places for fun, that is linked to satisfaction and pleasure. Without money, we cannot visit places or do things that demand money. Similarly, on events like Christmas out celebrations are directly linked to finances. We can only buy presents and organize a party when we have money. This reflects the practical implications of the desire theory. Our desires for having a better lifestyle are correlated with money (Xiao, Tang, & Shim 2009).

My friends follow the same notion that happiness depends on money. This is because in youth we desire many things like a personal car, expensive cell phone and credit cards that come from money. Everyone in my circle has dreams like earning money for a better future and lifestyle. This confirms the positive relationship between money and happiness. People who manage to fulfil their want get the feeling of satisfaction and pleasure. Compared to them, some of my friends who lack the financial ability for buying a cell phone of a tabled exhibits dissatisfaction and unhappiness. Friends having money are more well-off compared to the ones that lack money.

Three things that I will buy from a lottery are; a house, car and tickets for a world tour. I could afford these things only when I have money. These desires have a direct association with happiness because they evoke the feelings of pleasure and satisfaction (Boyce, Daly, & Hounkpatin 2017). Without money, I can't buy these things that exhibit an inability to attain wants thus resulting in dissatisfaction.

References

Boyce, C. J., Daly, M., & Hounkpatin, H. O. 2017. Money May Buy Happiness, but Often So Little That It Doesn't Matter. Psychological Science, 28 (4).

Bruckner, D. W. 2013. Present Desire Satisfaction and Past Well-Being. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 91 (1).

Xiao, J. J., Tang, C., & Shim, S. 2009. Acting for Happiness: Financial Behavior and Life Satisfaction of College Students. Soc Indic Res, 92, 53–68.