Summary
In “From the ‘Perfect’ salary to keeping up with the Joneses, here’s How Money Really Affects Your Happiness” by Cory Steig, the conclusion of this article is how money simply doesn’t make us happy yet the way that we spend it can.
Premises
1. Spending money on experiences, personal growth and relationships results in higher levels of long term happiness.
2. According to the theory of hedonic adaptation, people often adjust to changes in their environment, such as gains in money which causes their pleasure levels to essentially plateau.
3. “The ideal income point for individuals is $95,000 for life satisfaction and $60,000 to $75,000 for emotional wellbeing.” In “The Paradox of Choice” by Barry Schwartz
In “The Paradox of Choice” by Barry Schwartz, the conclusion is too many choices can lead to anxiety, dissatisfaction, and paralysis rather than increased happiness and freedom. “Opportunity costs subtract from the satisfaction that we get out of what we choose even when what we choose is terrific. The more options there are to consider, the more attractive features of this option are going to be reflected to us by opportunity costs.”
Premises
1. There was a couple on vacation at the beach and all he could think about for 2 weeks was how great of a parking space he would get in front of his house on West 85th Street.
2. The jeans example is when he was used to buying one specific pair of jeans because they were the only type that were sold. Now there are too many options that his expectations increased and his satisfaction decreased.
I believe that in today’s society, we need money to make us happy. Although we have more needs that need to be met as shown on Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, money can scratch the surface. Money can buy us security, and all of our basic necessities such as food, water, clothes, housing electricity, etc. There are a lot of people in the world who have a lot of wealth and they aren’t the happiest of people. I agree that outside of just making money to afford necessities, we should spend money on things that make us happy. By that I don’t mean splurging on material things but experiences that we can make memories out us and last for a lifetime.
