Money and Happiness

The relationship between money and happiness has been questioned for many years. Are the rich happier than the poor? Can money buy happiness? The relationship between money and happiness is shown in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Money will always be tied in with happiness in a good or bad way.
People that have big incomes can buy more things for their family or for themselves. They don’t have to worry about only getting what they need. Owners of mansions and large estates can go out and buy many exotic cars and not think twice about it. Celebrities can buy off venues for the day or just escape when the rumors of fame become too much to bear. People with less money are not that fortunate. They have to deal with their problems head on. They can't always buy what they want because they have to focus on getting what they need. Having a big income can allow someone to buy what they want for themselves but that might not be enough to keep them happy. It depends on how they use that money, whether it be throwing a charity event or buying toys for kids in foster homes. Money can only buy happiness to an extent. If someone does a good deed with that money it will bring happiness to others and the giver will feel good because they will know they made someone's day a little brighter. “One could argue, "Well, hey, of course having more income can make you happy…" But maybe it’s related to either the dollar amount given. Or the fact that people who are more likely to give money to others or to charity are just inherently happier people by character. So the researchers set out to examine those hypotheses in two separate follow-up experiments.” (https://diigo.com/0757qd)
While some believe that money can fully buy happiness, they fail to realize that money cannot buy people. “Buying” friends in life can make someone happy until they realize that once the money is gone then so are the friends. Once the friends or other people to interact with leave, the happiness of the one who had it all depletes. They will want to share their wealth with someone before they begin to feel lonely. In a relationship money can turn out to be a big issue. The woman might start making a bigger income than her husband and he begins to feel inferior. The man makes more money than his wife and she will fear that he will look to marry someone as wealthy as him or find someone else. Money can make the couple happy, however, if they choose to use it to go on trips or buy each other gifts. "As income increases, its added contribution to life satisfaction becomes smaller. The impact of additional income is greatest among those who have little money, but it does not stop mattering, even after someone is able to meet basic needs."(https://diigo.com/075a9n)
Many say that countries that are rich are better than those that are poor. Rich countries can actually be unhappy and the poor could be the happy ones. If a county has a lot of money it only gives great opportunity to spend it on buildings, roads, or transportation. Poor countries have residents that rely on each other and everyone understands one another. Just having more money does not promise infinite happiness. It all depends on what someone will do with the money once they get it. Will you just think about yourself or will you think about others? Will u buy a little of what you want or will you buy everything? It all adds up to what the receiver of the money wants to do with it. "There’s something called the Eas­terlin paradox [named after University of Southern California professor Richard Easterlin], which claimed that while rich people are happier than poor people, rich countries are not happier than poor countries, and as countries got richer, they did not get happier. Now, what we [Wolfers and fellow University of Michigan professor Betsey Stevenson] did was study more comprehensive data. We looked at ­surveys, including the Gallup World Poll, of 155 countries covering 95% of the world’s population. It turns out that rich countries are indeed happier than poorer ones, and as countries get richer, they get happier."(https://diigo.com/075akd)
Money is related to happiness because it is involved with everything. Nothing is free in life but your life could be easier if you choose what you want to do with money. Happiness has a different meaning for everyone and money has a different purpose. When combining the two, many opinions and options will arise. The definitions of money, however, is not happiness and the definition of happiness is not money. Money can only buy happiness to an extent just like how happiness only involves money to an extent. There is a mutual balance between the two.