Money is at the forefront of modern society with almost everything needing some sort of financial transaction. This means that happiness, in some circumstances, can only be granted through money, however, is it truly bringing happiness or is money just a fundamental necessity in life.
How is someone's upbringing affected by money?
From a young age money is essential be it your own or your families. Money can shape most aspects of a person’s upbringing, from where you live to your education and even to who you know. Someone with a wealthier upbringing they may live in a more luxurious house in a ‘nicer’ and more ‘safe’ area. This may mean that the children living within this area associate themselves with people of similar wealth, which in later life can be very important in finding opportunities for example, a new job opportunity. It can be said ‘It’s who you know, not what you know’ and with a more indulgent upbringing this can be a major benefit. Similarly, some people may be educated privately giving them further opportunities and connections that can be exploited in later life. All these positive benefits can go the other way with people with a less wealthy upbringing may struggle to gain these opportunities and have major benefits in later life. These few benefits prove that money can bring happiness however, it is definitely not a necessity to be wealthy in order to gain a good upbringing, but it may help.
The cost of living
As I previously said money is used for everything in society which can have a major effect on happiness. An example of people without money making them unhappy is homeless people, as they cannot afford to live in a house so sleep on the streets, having a major effect on health and mental health. However, it may be argued that despite the horrible circumstances they must endure, small things may bring them greater happiness not just money as simple things may be greatly appreciated. This demonstrates how money has tainted people’s views on life making it harder to find enjoyment in things. Money has affected everyday life, and this is highlighted with the cost-of-living crisis with everything you see online and in shops being about saving on everything rather than enjoying things. It sounds simple to say everyone should just appreciate everything and enjoy it but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to do enjoyable activities due to their costs and the costs of essential products like food. On the other hand, physical activities like running are free and bring many people joy showing that money doesn’t have to be involved in everything. But even most physical activities require at least some monetary investment, once again this emphasises the importance of money to people’s happiness.
The influence money has on life
Money also has influence on how people live their lives, for example some of the richest people in the world would have had to sacrifice so much of their lives in order to gain the success they have, which along the way may have not made them very happy at all. Similarly, most people work routine jobs which take up most or if not all day as they have to, in order to earn money just to live everyday life. Because of this most of enjoyment comes from spending that money at weekends or on holiday. It’s becoming increasingly hard to enjoy spending this money as well as a big sum of the money is spent on essentials due to the cost of living. Additionally, people without jobs must live a very conserved life as they are unable to spend on many things other than the most important. Money also has an impact socially, this can be through things such as going out with friends which brings enjoyment, unfortunately a lot of activities involve money, but it is also not always needed to find enjoyment. Having a conversation and seeing people is enough to bring people happiness as it is proven that people with more social interactions are happier whilst having better mental health. Things like this don’t necessarily require money but can be enhanced with it, showing that money may not bring initial happiness, but it can help to make you happier.
The verdict
In general, it can be said that money makes you happy and money does make the world tick with everyone needing it and using their time to strive to get it. However, money isn’t an essential for happiness, enjoyment can be found elsewhere in even the littlest of things like a social interaction. But money does have a big influence on the amount of fun an individual can have.
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