How much money do you need to be happy? What do you sacrifice to earn more money? At what amount would you say “I have enough”?
As it turned out according to a recent research, there is no satiation point when it comes to money. So the answer to the questions above is obvious – we will never think we have enough. But would more money make you more satisfied with your life? The good news is that money can make us happy. Researchers found out that additional income makes both poor and rich people happier and what is more, there’s no limit to how much happier money can make you — it just takes more money to increase the well-being of the rich than it does of the poor. Another key finding proves that every next dollar does not bring you the same level of satisfaction. You need to double the previous amount you were happy about in order to receive the same level of happiness next time. Or simply put, the same salary increase next time won’t make you as ecstatic as the first time. Still, Mr. Wolfers noted that, as people see their income rise, they tend to say that they feel happier. Once you earn the money, the more important question becomes – what do you spend your money on – material things or experience? Is money the means to pave your future for the half-asleep passion inside you? The sad reality is: If you only go for the green, eventually you forget your dream.
As the famous credit card advertisement goes: There are Some Things Money Can’t Buy. For Everything Else you have Mastercard. Definetely it is good to have a Mastercard for those things you want or need to buy. But let me remind you of the the most important commodity you can’t buy with money: TIME. Time is the one thing we lose every second regardless what we do. We can’t save it for tomorrow, because when tomorrow comes, yesterday is already gone. Even if the research is true and happiness can be bought with money, time cannot. So don’t be silly to exchange it for money. It is not a fair deal.
Because otherwise we will come to a point in life when we will hear a burning question inside of us:
“How did it get so late so soon?” ― Dr. Seuss