Does money buy happiness? There’s an incredible debate on this topic, with many people coming from different perspectives.
Some believe money does buy happiness because it can eliminate all financial worries. Some also believe money doesn’t buy happiness because we can find true fulfillment in other aspects of life, such as traveling, spending time with family, or cooking.
Maybe you’re somebody who isn’t sure of where they land on the spectrum. You see the benefits of making more money but aren’t sure if it’ll make you more greedy.
In this article, we’ll discuss what you need to know when making more money and whether or not it leads to greed.
1. You’ll feel secure
We might not be fully confident money can buy happiness, but it can buy the feeling of security. Having enough money coming in to pay expenses, such as utility bills, food, and rent, will eliminate the fear of not being able to pay for basic needs.
It can remove the fear of running out of money and not being able to support your family because you know you have a reliable source of income behind you. Ultimately, increasing your income transforms your life forever because you’ll no longer second guess yourself or hesitate whenever making a purchase.
We should all live within our budget, especially when we’re not financially stable. However, the beauty of increasing our income comes with knowing that we can now expand our budget and invest in more opportunities.
2. Chasing more will or won’t kill you
One of the most common motivations for robberies is greed. When we want more money and financial freedom, we might consider robbing others because it is an easy shortcut. The problem with this is it comes at the expense of others by harming them financially and ultimately kills us spiritually. After one failed robbery attempt, we’ll spend years of our lives in regret for the damage we put upon ourselves and others.
Even outside of a criminal standpoint, constantly going after more money won’t make us happy. Since we’re always striving for more, how do we know we have enough?
Contrastically, there’s evidence that having more money can bring happiness. Peter Cohan from Inc. wrote, “In an ironic twist, the researchers found that there is one thing that decamillionaires can do to get even more happiness—give it away.” Donating back to charity and giving money away to people is one of the ways more money contributes to more happiness.
Although there continues to be a debate on whether more money is healthy, what matters is the way we spend it and the reason behind our accumulation of wealth. Do we want to make more money to boast? Or do we want to make millions to support our family and those in need?
Aside from money, here are other ways you can find fulfillment.
3. You get to support those around you
How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
– Matthew 7:4 NIV
In the occurrence of a plane accident, airline protocol recommends putting our oxygen mask on first before we help others. By doing so, we have oxygen and put ourselves in a stable position to help others effectively. The same principle applies to the way we help others financially.
As mentioned previously, a higher income gives us the opportunity to support charities and those in need. However, we need to help ourselves first before we help others. Failing to do so will only result in additional stress and cause self-destruction.
By generating a higher level of income, we then put ourselves in a more comfortable position to help others, essentially putting on our oxygen masks. We then put ourselves in a stable position to stretch our hand and help those in need.
4. You get to prioritize other areas
With the worry of financial insufficiency out of the way, this allows us to prioritize other areas of our lives. Basic areas of our lives that deserve our unwavering attention can now be addressed because of the time we’ve gained.
Although it might not seem like it, money can buy time if we think about it. If we have more money coming in, we can reduce the number of hours working. In a conjectural perspective, say you have two people: a fast food worker and a doctor. To make $300, a fast food worker has to work at least 17 hours, whereas a doctor can make $300 in less than 4 hours because of the difference in their hourly wage.
For instance, a higher income would allow us to spend time with family, pursue a passion, or travel more.
5. You’re more likely to be manipulated
It’s a harsh reality, but the more money you have, the less people will view you as human. Instead of viewing you as a person with a beautiful soul, they view you as an ATM that’ll hand them free money. It’s critical to be wary of these people because of their inclination to rob you financially, emotionally, and spiritually.
The lying, manipulation, and gaslighting you’ll eventually experience stems from the quick and easy financial incentive that someone could potentially receive.
6. It can cause you to miss out on important things
When you become laser-focused on making more money by working longer hours, it could cause you to miss out on meaningful things in life. Having a stable source of income is non-negotiable, but if we spend most of our lives working, how do we give our lives meaning?
