Can money buy you happiness? Do you think money influences how happy you are? Are there things you need to own to be happy? Do you know people who seem to be happy yet they have little money? These are a few questions I posed to my students, who surprisingly agreed that no matter how you say it, “cheddar,” “moolah,” “loot” or just plain ol’ money, does not equate to happiness.
Here are a couple of their reasons why:
I don’t think money is everything. Good health or good human relationships are more important and valuable than money. But money can allow me to afford to do some things I want to do.
For example, if I have enough money, I don’t have to worry about where to live, what to eat, etc. So I can enjoy time being happy doing some hobbies, being with my friends or family, or going to gym to have good health. And also I can buy expensive medical treatments or education these days, so money can make me happy. But if I don’t do activities like living healthy or studying hard, they can be useless. So I can’t be happy just with money.
I think people who believe in a higher figure something like God seem to be happy with little money. They can feel happiness when they do something for others. For example, Mother Theresa didn’t have much money, but she helped a lot of people and she has been respected all over the world. – Yumiko
No, I don’t think money can buy happiness because I think life will be boring and empty without love even though people have a lot of money. But that doesn’t mean money is not important. I think having enough money to live a normal life is very important. If a family doesn’t have enough money to buy food, go to school or to use cell phones, family members will be depressed often and may be complaining about why they don’t have enough money. My grandmother said “life without money is like life without eyes.” I can understand this expression because I can’t go anywhere if I don’t have enough money to buy a car to ride on a train. If I live inside the house all day, it’s like living in darkness. – Keiko
Do you agree with Yumiko and Keiko? Or would you be happier if you had more money?
