How Having More Won’t Necessarily Make You Happier

There is a growing body of research that suggests that having more money doesn’t make you happier. Once you have enough.

Granted, “enough” is notoriously difficult to be defined, but most of us in America do have enough.

Most of us need more and that can hurt us in two ways. Consider whether either of these applies to you.

First, some of us spend so much time wanting more that we focus our lives around the acquisition of ever-greater amounts of money. That may manifest itself as picking up extra shifts to ensure that a few extra bucks—regardless of the impact it may bear in the family—or perhaps as violating one’s own moral code to do a deal to make some extra money. Some folks have invested in college funds and retirement savings in high-risk ventures that they didn’t fully understand. Ultimately leaving the family broke rather than well off.

The fact is that much of the effort we make to earn more money at the margin comes at a higher cost than we would choose to pay in hindsight. That isn’t to say that hard work isn’t required in life—it is. For every person born with a silver spoon in his mouth, a million others are born without one.

Just think about, what am I giving up to get ahead? If you don’t like the answer, don’t keep chasing that dream. Figure out a purpose and a passion for your life that will enrich your family without requiring a lot of money.
The second way in which wanting more harms us are when we spend our future income (worse when we expend uncertain future income). When we borrow money to buy something we want but can’t afford now, we rob ourselves of upcoming opportunities in myriad ways.

For instance, if we borrow $2,000 for a vacation that we can’t afford, once the vacation is more important than, we have nothing but memories. For months, or perhaps years, we’ll be paying for that vacation, sacrificing countless other things because we chose to spend money we didn’t have. When you have determined that with interest, the $2,000 could easily become $2,500, we would be giving up 500 future $5 purchases.

Every time we are bound to say that to ourselves, I can’t expend five lousy bucks on this because I took that vacation, the memory of that vacation will be tarnished.

When borrowing for the future becomes a pattern rather than the exception, bills mount, interest compounds and misery ensues. Money didn’t purchase happiness; it brought sorrow.