Can money make you happier? Is being wealthy the key to being happy? Surely, having money means having less worries. Money relieves people of worrying about where their next meal is coming from, or how one is going to pay their car payment, rent, or electric bill, and every other expense they have. The people who fall in the middle of the money spectrum are truly happy.  

  The appreciation for material items and money itself can become muted when you have more than enough money and material things. Life at the extremely wealthy end of the spectrum can be unenjoyable. If one has such a surplus of money, they might own multiple houses for vacations and eat at overpriced restaurants just because they can. These behaviors by people with lots of money can cause their material possessions to lose their value, and they will no longer mean anything to the person who bought them.

  At the other end of the spectrum, one could lose their home because they could no longer afford the payments on it, or they could go hungry because they could not afford food. These people cannot be happy because they are not rolling in money; they are rolling in stress.

  For most people, money is earned from hard work, and therefore, it is a limited resource, a luxury. Anything that is bought using that hard earned money is also a luxury, and something that is valued.  In the US, many believe that the magic salary is $75,000. This figure is based on having enough money to pay for all of one’s basic needs and having some left over to save or to spend on special things, like a vacation. These are the people who are truly the happiest because they have the money to live a comfortable life, but they are not rolling in it. Sophomore Gray Doby said that money can only buy you happiness for a limited amount of time: “If you only get your happiness from money, then eventually you grow used to it. This will make you become even more unhappy than before, so have a balanced diet, kids!”

   Others would argue that people with next to no money are the happiest because they focus more on their family and have stronger morals. Poorer kids in poorer nations seem the happiest, and they do not have much. On the other hand, some people would say that people with money are the happiest because they have more opportunities. For instance, a wealthy family might choose to buy a safer, more reliable car which is more expensive because they can afford it.

   Still, if one can afford a house, car, bills and food, and still have money to spare, they are truly the happiest because they have more opportunities, but they have not yet lost their appreciation for the things that they buy. They also have the option to buy things for their friends and family, and as that old saying goes, giving is better than receiving. So, if you fall in that sweet spot, then you are happiest because some money can buy you happiness.