Does Money Make You Happy?

The simple answer is YES but only to a certain point. Recently in my reading on the internet I read some articles about some research that has been done into the subject of happiness. The results were interesting.

The research showed that people suffering from extreme poverty were unhappy and they found that as people earned income that covered their basic needs this did in fact improve happiness in their lives and in the lives of their families. However they found that as income increased beyond this point that happiness stopped increasing but stayed more or less the same.

As I thought about this I came to the following conclusion. Money does NOT make you happy, but it does alleviate concerns and cares people have about their health and lifestyle. However if our needs are met for food, water, clothing and shelter, then what will make us happy is NOT money, but something else. This is why the extremely rich are no happier than normal everyday people like you and I.

So what does make us happy? Whilst the research didn’t answer that question, I believe that putting God in first place and including family, friends, genuine love, genuine interest in others and in whole, being generous and giving makes us happier and more contented people.