Buying Happiness

Reports indicate that all a person needs to make is $ 75,000 a year to feel the greatest amount of happiness and satisfaction that a person can have from obtaining wealth. After that amount, a person’s happiness does not increase with his or her increase in wealth. However, why this occurs is not readily explainable. For example, when people are questioned about whether they would feel happier with an increase in wealth, the answers they provide often show conflict within most people. Some people have this conflict because they are at odds with wanting more and feeling guilty about not being happy with what they own.

Wealth, however, can increase a person’s happiness in other ways. In essence, people tend to focus on the wrong aspect of wealth and happiness. A person might want to focus on what the money can offer a person if that person knows how to spent his or her money. Reports indicate that spending more time with those we care about increases happiness. In addition, there are other activites that increase happiness too. The conclusion that we might be able to reach is that if a person spends his or her money on activities that can increase happiness then having more money might lead to a greater amount of happiness in the long run.

See Carl Richards, The Right Way to Try to Buy Happiness, New York Times, May 21, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.