There are many different cliches used in our everyday life. One common cliche is, “Money can’t buy happiness.” The phrase is supposed to insight the idea that happiness comes from within yourself, and not material possessions.
This is not something that is entirely the truth. While anyone from any financial background can be a relatively happy person, having enough money to sustain ourselves can bring relief, and not having enough money to sustain ourselves can come with damaging side effects on the mind.
Putting aside useless material things, there is an abundance of important things money can do to aid people to gain happiness in their lives. Anyone who has dealt with financial issues can understand the hardship and the way it can consume your life. When you are struggling to pay rent, feed your family, and are forced to work multiple jobs to sustain yourself, money can equate to how happy you are.
People in poverty are 1.5 to 3 times more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses in comparison to those who are living in higher income households. Additionally, a poll from 2011 found that 31 percent of people in poverty experience depression, compared to 15.8 percent of those not in poverty. It is clear that the amount of money someone earns has detrimental effects on a person’s mental health.
Taking into account the lack of free healthcare in America, there are many people who need medical treatment are unable to either get services without resulting in debt, or any services at all due to a lack of funding. People who are financially comfortable are able to afford life changing medicines and care for themselves and their families. There is no doubt that keeping yourself and those in your family healthy will create happiness.
Our country does not give much paid time off from work, which only really affects those who are struggling financially. Those who are in higher income jobs, are able to take days off and not have to worry about not being able to pay their rent or buy food for the week. Money grants freedom in these types of situations.
The biggest issue with the phrase, “Money can’t buy happiness,” is when it is used by those who are extremely rich. When you already have everything imaginable in the palm of your hand, to disregard it in the way some millionaires do is ridiculous. There is no way that when you have the amount of money millionaires do, you cannot go out and find a sense of purpose and happiness.
Whether money can actually buy the existence of happiness itself, we will never know. At the end of the day it is only a cliche, but still it is important to not ignore the effect that money has on our mental health.
