Everybody has a specific thing or person that brings joy to them, whether it’s an activity, a pet, or a hobby. Of course, it all depends on who you are and what you like and enjoy, but can wealth be something that can make you happy?

Everybody’s goal in life is to be successful. Therefore, everybody wants to make enough to support themselves or their family. Many people believe having money can bring happiness to life; others believe there’s more to life than money. Yes, having money can be great because you must pay for rent, accessories, groceries, gas, etc. Having a higher income, for example, can give us access to homes in safer neighborhoods, better health care and nutrition, fulfilling work, and more leisure time.

Once our income reaches a certain level and our basic needs for food, health care, safety, and shelter are met, the positive effects of money, such as buying your dream home, are often offset by the adverse effects like working longer hours or in more stressful jobs to maintain that income. Most people can get carried away once they start spending lots of money. Some people decide to spend their money in foolish ways like useless things, like gambling, alcohol, or drugs. Gambling can become an addiction, mainly because you’re wasting lots of cash.

So, it all depends on how you use your money. Most people think that spending money on themselves will make them happier than spending it on other people. Yet, when researchers assess happiness before and after people spend an annual bonus, people report greater happiness when they spend the bonus money on others or donate it to charity than when they spend it on themselves. Happiness is what you enjoy, says Dr. Glenn Williams, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, He said: “An effective route to happiness is not necessarily through experiencing major events that we might have planned out such as getting married, moving house, getting that all-important promotion, or even being on holiday. Rather it is the small, and often unexpected, pleasures in life that can make us smile every day to help us build happier and more meaningful lives for ourselves and for others.” He explains that “The small things are what count because they’re more intimate.” The researchers say that also the good things that happen unexpectedly can bring happiness.

In conclusion, happiness can be anything, whether it’s a relationship, money, a pet, or your family. It can be anything. It just depends on what type of person you are.

Sources contributing to this story:

https://www.healthline.com/health/can-money-buy-happiness 

https://psychology.unl.edu/can-money-buy-happines 

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/40-little-things-daily-life-that-bring-true-happiness.html