1. Definition of Money
Money is
any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a particular country or
socio-economic context, or is easily converted to such a form. The main
functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit
of account; a store of value; and, sometimes, a standard of deferred payment.[4][5] Any
item or verifiable record that fulfills these functions can be considered as
money.
Money is
historically an emergent market phenomenon establishing a commodity
money, but nearly all contemporary money systems are based on fiat money.
Fiat money, like any check or note of debt, is without use value
as a physical commodity. It derives its value by being declared by a government
to be legal
tender; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the
boundaries of the country, for "all debts, public and private". Such
laws in practice cause fiat money to acquire the value of any of the goods and
services that it may be traded for within the nation that issues it.
2.
Definition
of Happiness
Happiness
is a mental or emotional state of well-being
defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment
to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious and philosophical
approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources. Various
research groups, including positive psychology, are employing the scientific
method to research questions about what "happiness" is, and how
it might be attained.
3. Money
and Happiness
As the
post-Christmas credit card bills roll in, most of us would say that a little
more money wouldn’t go amiss. In fact, according to research for the
Guardian in 2015, money is the greatest source of anxiety for Britons.
But would more
of it really make us happy? It’s a question that fascinates – and divides –
psychologists.
One survey of 1,000
Americans, conducted in 2010, concluded that money does make us happier –
but only up to a certain point. The findings, by psychologist Daniel Kahneman
and economist Angus Deaton, both from Princeton University, showed that
self-reported levels of wellbeing increased with salary up to $75,000 (roughly
£50,000) a year. But after that, increasing amounts of money had no further
effect on happiness.
However, a more recent study,
published by researchers at the University of Michigan in 2013, challenged the
idea that the positive effect of money plateaus. After comparing life
satisfaction and happiness levels in both rich and poor countries, and rich and
poor people within a country – with “rich” being defined as an income greater
than $15,000 (roughly £10,000) per person – Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers
concluded: “The relationship between wellbeing and income … does not diminish
as income rises. If there is a satiation point, we are yet to reach it.”
This would
strike a chord with actor Bo Derek, who once claimed: “Whoever said money can’t
buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping.”
Anecdotal
evidence is just as conflicted. In 2015, analysis of data
from the Office for National Statistics’ Wealth and Assets Survey showed that
for Britons aged 16 and over there is a clear link between household wealth and
happiness, life satisfaction and personal sense of worth. Yet when Markus
Persson, creator of Minecraft, sold his gaming company to Microsoft for £2.5bn
in 2014, it didn’t give him the huge happiness boost you might expect, as his
tweet from August 2015 showed: “Hanging out in Ibiza with a bunch of friends
and partying with famous people, able to do whatever I want, and I’ve never
felt more isolated.”
Similarly,
billionaire John Caudwell, founder of Phones4U, admitted on the BBC programme
Britain’s Spending Secrets that there are times when he would put his happiness
level at just one or two out of 10.
Some would
argue that the effect of money, whatever it is, can only ever be minimal
because individual happiness is based on completely different criteria. According to
psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness,
about 50% is down to our baseline happiness level, which is something we’re
born with. In other words, some people are just naturally happier than others.
By contrast, life circumstances – which would include income levels – account
for just 10% of our total reported happiness.
The final 40%
is about “intentional activities”, or things we can do to make ourselves
happier. Money does play a part in this – but not in the way you might expect.
For example,
being generous makes us happy. Michael Norton, of Harvard Business School,
talks about “pro-social spending” – in other words, spending money on others –
and how it is linked to wellbeing. In a 2008 study with
fellow researchers Elizabeth Dunn and Lara Aknin, he gave 46 participants
either $5 or $20 and told some to spend it on themselves and others to give it
away. He also recorded their self-reported happiness levels before and after
the task. Those who had given their windfall away showed a greater increase in
wellbeing than those who had spent the money on themselves.
Meanwhile,
researchers at the US’s National Institute of Health demonstrated a link
between charitable giving and activation in the part of the brain associated
with pleasure, triggering the release of endorphins or “happiness hormones”,
which cause what scientists refer to as the “helper’s high”.
And if we
spend on others in a way that builds relationships, so much the better. Harvard
Business School’s Aknin did an experiment in
which she gave people $10 Starbucks gift cards and asked some to spend the card
on themselves, others to give the card to someone else, and still others to use
the card to take someone out for a coffee. The happiest group was the one that
had been able to spend on others while spending time with them – the
combination of altruism and connection upped their happiness levels.
So does money
make us happier? Well, yes and no. We need enough to cover our basic needs, and
a rising salary can impact our wellbeing, but we also need to remember the
positive effects of generosity and building relationships. Perhaps our focus
should be less on how much money we have, and more on how we use it.
4.
Quotes About
Money and Happiness
·
Money
has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to
produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants. Benjamin Franklin
·
A
little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of
money. John Ruskin
·
Money
is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you
as the driver. Ayn Rand
·
Money
cannot buy peace of mind. It cannot heal ruptured relationships, or build
meaning into a life that has none. Richard
M. DeVos
Sumber :
