IndexSummaryIntroductionConclusionWorks CitedSummaryEvery person has a different understanding of happiness. In addition to having a different thought on the subject, people have their own ways to realize happiness. Money buys happiness has sparked a heated debate as not everyone in this world has the same opinion. It is an age-old question, that of the effects of wealth on happiness and its corresponding impact. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In the past, advocates for reducing our focus on consumption were largely motivated by the idea that there was something psychologically or spiritually unhealthy about high levels of materialism. Meanwhile, in today's materialistic world, the phrase that "money can't buy happiness" tends to be proven otherwise. Various sources address correlations between money and happiness through topics such as pro-social spending, materialism, the pursuit of spending on others, and the effects of homelessness on physical and mental health. In this modern age, money can buy anything, including individual happiness. Many people think that personal happiness has a correlation with finance, while others believe that certain factors have huge implications on it. Introduction As we explore deeper to find the answer whether money can buy happiness or not, let us define the meaning of happiness and its relationship between money and the factors that influence both. So what defines happiness? We use "happiness" as a term of value, more or less synonymous with well-being or prosperity. Others use the word as a purely descriptive psychological term, similar to "depression" or "tranquility." Philosophers and thinkers of all generations have defined happiness as a mental state composed of positive thoughts and emotions that bring joy to the individual. Philosophers who write about "happiness" typically take their topic to be one of two things, each corresponding to a different sense of the term: a state of mind, a life that goes well for the person who leads it. But questions about “happiness” and “satisfaction” in surveys elicited subjective responses. For example, the General Social Surveys use a three-point verbal happiness scale, which asks the question, "Taken all together, how would you say these things are?" days – would you say you are very happy, quite happy or not too happy with the life you lead?' Different measures of happiness and life satisfaction – correlate well with each other and, according to factor analysis, represent a single unitary construct. Happiness responses correlate with physical reactions that can be thought of as a description of true internal happiness: people who report being happy tend to smile more and show higher levels of stress responses and are less likely to commit suicide. In attempting to define happiness, scholars, psychologists, and socialists have come up with two general theories about what happiness means. One is the hedonic theory. This suggests that happiness – or well-being – is entirely about achieving pleasure and avoiding pain. The more pleasure you experience and the less pain you experience, the happier you are and the greater your well-being. The hedonic view dates back to the Greek philosopher Aristippus, who described the ultimate goal of life as experiencing the maximum amount of pleasure. Eudemonic theory, however, focuses on meaning and defines well-being in terms of achievement. “Happiness” denotes a measure of an individual's evaluation of his or her overall quality of life (Veenhoven 1997). The term isusually used interchangeably with "life satisfaction". The term that encompasses both concepts is “subjective well-being”. For example, the extent to which we are fulfilling our potential in life. The Greek philosopher Aristotle explained that happiness is a combination of immediate pleasures and a life well lived. In other words, doing a good job with whatever you choose to do, along with freedom from suffering. This means that how much money people earned did not determine how happy they were, but how they earned affected their happiness. According to Harvard Business School researchers Grant Donnelly (The Happiness of Millionaires) and Michael Norton (Spending on Happiness), after surveying 4,000 millionaires, approximately 90% would agree to work for less money if it meant doing something they considered personally rewarding . An article titled “Maybe money buys happiness after all” (Leonhardst, 2008) and “If you're richer, you're happier” (Finkelstein, 2008) reported that more money equals more happiness. Understanding the happiness of millionaires is limited to a single sample from the 1983 Forbes list of the world's richest people. The study said about 49 wealthy individuals, each with a net worth of more than $125 million, were compared to median incomes in the same geographic areas. The wealthiest were, on average, somewhat happier than average earners and reported moderately greater life satisfaction. The authors concluded that richer people are happier than relatively poorer people. But the effects are small. In addition to the relationship between happiness and amount of money, the way people spend their money has been shown to influence happiness. For example, spending on others and giving to charity are typically associated with greater happiness than spending on material goods for oneself. The New York Times and the Times of London refute the long-standing claim, commonly attributed to Richard Easterlin, that money does not 'buy' well-reasoned happiness. The idea that more money does not mean happiness comes from the temporary nature of material values. People's level of happiness only increases as income increases. For example, you earn AED 12,000 per year. You will barely be able to afford food, let alone shelter and you will probably be very stressed or living off other people by rummaging through garbage. Now, let's say you earn AED 600,000 a year, you can afford a house, a Tesla car and you can dine in a fancy restaurant and at the same time gather some savings so you can afford to travel first class wherever you want, but you you're doing basically the same things as before, but you're working much harder and you don't have as much time to spend with your family. Now, earning AED 12,000 a year, or AED 600,000 a year, is pretty unlikely, and it's also an absurd amount of money usually acquired by making money with money not actually working harder or contributing more to society. This is where most people actually think about pleasure and not happiness. Material wealth influences happiness. But this depends on the ability of such materials to satisfy the needs of the individual. The fact that more money gives you the freedom to acquire material possessions implies that this can directly make you happier. People have different motivations in life which in turn influence their definition of happiness. For example, Andrew Carnegie donated most of his fortune to charities, foundations, and universities in an effort to lead a useful and worthy life. This explains the misconception that there is arelationship between earning more money and being happier in life. Happiness and satisfaction come from achieving personal goals and ambitions. Some are inclined to believe that being wealthy can be an advantage, and in the context of personal happiness, a more simplistic lifestyle could increase the consequences of being satisfied. Furthermore, key aspects of the minimalist lifestyle relate to this reality that the demerits of sad events involve money-related events. As a tangible example, some scientific research conducted by a prestigious university stated that on the flip side, being in a money deficit is negatively correlated with the inability to enjoy life. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the preconceived notion of money influences happiness. The modern world has put a price on everything and therefore, for many, wealth is truly the root and ultimate happiness. Having wealth has the advantage of sometimes allowing you to attend certain universities to obtain particular degrees, but to do this you must have the skills, talent, brains and endless sleepless nights to sustain this money to graduate. Money can enable one to obtain all the temporary comforts of life, but one must also consider what type of person benefits from money. Furthermore, someone with great wealth may be considered lucky by many, but the individual himself only realizes that if there is no one to share the gifts with, there is truly no sweetness, no matter how ripe the fruit may be . Some people have a lot of money, but are still bored and lonely, or an individual who is dying of an incurable disease cannot be satisfied despite having a large amount of money. If we look at it from a practical point of view, there are many facts that financial pressure has destroyed relationships. The phrase more money, more problems is strongly believed to be true by many people. In addition to more money, many people suffer from addictions such as drugs that lead them to commit suicide or commit crime or use money as a tool for these things. Even if more money gives you this pleasure, it does not guarantee to make you happy. Money is just a tool. It is the determination in difficult times to overcome them and finally the joy of overcoming them. Happiness is subjective and financial aspects do not determine it. Donnelly and Norton examined the literature and found that money contributes to happiness by satisfying basic needs – but above a certain level, more money does not produce much more happiness. In the area of ​​personal happiness, a more simplistic lifestyle could increase the consequences. to be satisfied. Furthermore, key aspects of the minimalist lifestyle relate to this reality that the demerits of sad events involve money-related events. As a tangible example, some scientific research conducted by a prestigious university stated that the disadvantage of being in a money deficit is negatively correlated with the inability to enjoy life. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the preconceived notion of wealth affects happiness. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Conclusion To conclude, although there are several compelling arguments on both sides, they deeply believe that the advantages of having money far outweigh its disadvantages. Not only do the benefits of being prosperous demonstrate the importance of overall life satisfaction, but they also identify the implications of basic life needs. Research shows that altruistic behavior is good for and can increase emotional well-being, 31(1), 21-33.