Does money increase happiness? Various research sources support that money does increase happiness and other research sources say slightly different. You make the call.
It seems like as a society there is a push to be happy all of the time and people are spending millions on trying to obtain happiness or believing that money alone will contribute to an increase in happiness. I have to admit, I even went out this week and purchased a couple lottery tickets as a way to find momentary happiness in fantasies about what I would do if I actually won. On a side note, I haven't checked them so I could be a millionaire as I type!
The researchers studied over 1000 participants' well-being. They compared the change in well-being due to therapy or due to a sudden increase in income. The researchers found that after 4 months of psychotherapy, there was a large effect on well-being. They also found that it would take a significant amount of a pay increase to achieve the same effect, thus, therapy is 32 times more cost effective at increasing happiness than money.
Different research supports that money does bring happiness, but there's a catch. In a Newsweek article and on an episode of "This Emotional Life", research has been reported that money does increase happiness when it helps a person out of poverty or out of a difficult situation. However, money only increases happiness to a point. People making $50,000 indicate they are happier than those making $10,000, but people making $5 million are not more happier than those making $100,000. Umm, my lotto ticket says I could win $147 million...I'd like to test this theory.
I also found another blog, written by Dr. John Grohol. Dr. Grohol writes that people are happy when they are charitable with their money or when they spend their money on meaningful experiences and not materials. I have to admit, it is fun to spend money on others, especially when it's for a great cause.
As you can see, there are many views on how money and happiness interplay. What's your take on money and happiness?
