A few weeks ago I was talking to a friend of mine about whether or not money can buy happiness. He was adamant that it can’t. He cited money’s inability to buy happiness as his primary reason for not saving for the future. He said: “We don’t know how long we’ve got, so we may as well live life in the present and have a good time now instead of worrying about having enough money in the future.
“It doesn’t matter how much money I have. I could be the richest person in the world and still be miserable.”
Although I can certainly see where he is coming from and I agree that it’s important to live each day as if it’s your last, I think it’s foolish to dismiss saving for the future completely.
In my opinion, money can buy happiness and by setting money aside and doing everything you can to improve your finances, you can make your future happier!
Here’s why…
Money can help you escape unhappy situations
A lack of money can leave people trapped in situations that make them miserable.
From enabling you to quit a soul destroying job to giving you the means to leave your bully boyfriend and rent a place by yourself, a healthy savings account can help you escape from so many unhappy situations. Money can be liberating. It can give you independence and the strength to change your life for the better.
Thanks to a healthy savings account, at the start of this year I was able to quit the job from hell without another one to go to. This had a profound impact on my happiness levels and saw me go from constant misery, stress and anxiety to feeling relaxed, content and excited for the future.
Money can give you freedom
Imagine your best friend invites you to go travelling with her.
Imagine you get offered your dream job at the other side of the country but it involves taking a small pay cut.
Imagine you decide to study for a masters and change your career.
Imagine you come up with an exciting business idea and you need to invest in it to get it off the ground.
Without money, you’re not going to be able to do these things and your happiness could be affected. Having the freedom to make bold decisions and choose the direction you follow in life plays a huge factor in our happiness.
Money problems are the number one cause of relationship failure
Don’t get me wrong; love and relationships are really important. I’m a proper romantic bastard and, to an extent, I really do think there’s no point in having lots of money if you don’t have love.
However, it’s worth noting that money is the number one cause of stress in a relationship.
People are more likely to break up due to money problems than they are to break up because of infidelity. So it really doesn’t matter how in love you are, if you pretend money doesn’t matter at all, you’re probably not doing your relationship any favours.
Money touches every aspect of our lives and a lack of it (or drastically different opinions surrounding its importance) can place a significant amount of strain on a relationship.
A lack of money can make you miserable
A few weeks ago I went to the cinema to see I, Daniel Blake. If you haven’t seen it already, I’d definitely recommend it. It was a really harrowing watch and it reminded me just how easy it can be for a person to become trapped in poverty and how utterly miserable it can make them.
The film hits out at the UK’s broken welfare system and emphasises how degrading and dehumanising it can be for those out of work. Money won’t necessarily magic away a person’s problems, but it can significantly reduce these issues while giving them peace of mind and security.
What do you think? Can money buy happiness? Would you be happier if you had more money or do you think there are more important things to think about?
