Dissecting the Popular Proverb "Money cannot buy Happiness"

We all believe that having money will make us happy, but studies on the subject have shown contradictory findings. According to certain research, having more money is always correlated with being happier. Some claim that having money does, in fact, make you happier, but only to a certain extent. After you have enough to live comfortably, however, having more money doesn't always translate into happiness. In a more recent investigation, scientists who had previously discovered disparate results collaborated to find a definitive solution, and they discovered that the solution is quite nuanced. Those who are already content only get happier with greater wealth. Nonetheless, up to roughly $100,000, money does not make people happier than generally unhappy people.

Beyond that, things become considerably more intricate. For instance, obtaining greater wealth may lead to undesirable behaviours, such as working longer hours and consuming less time with friends and family (Aaker et al., 2011). Furthermore, having more money gives you more options, which don't always translate into happiness. For instance, a study discovered that people are content when offered a free trip to Hawaii or Paris, but they are not as content when forced to pick between the two, as is frequently the case with wealthy people.

Then, these researchers conducted an experiment to see if paying for time-saving services could actually lower stress levels and increase happiness. For two weekends in a row, they handed a group of participants $40 to spend on themselves. The first weekend, the people were instructed to use the money for a time-saving item. They were instructed to use the money for a material purchase, something for themselves, on the second weekend. The experimenters called the subjects every weekend to find out how stressed and content they were. People who spent money on something that saved them time felt substantially less anxious and happy than those who spent it on tangible goods, which is consistent with the survey results. 

Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between the level of stress that participants reported and their level of happiness, indicating that the act of reducing stress was the primary source of happiness for these individuals. The lesson from this tale is that the things that bring us the greatest joy aren't always the most expensive. 

Bibliography

Why Money Can't Buy Happiness | Psychology Today