Amanda Solis DB 5

The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz

Conclusion: Choices don’t make life easier.

Premises: Having many choices leaves a person with a sense of dissatisfaction. You wonder what if you have chosen something else instead of what you choose; you aren’t completely satisfied.

You Try To Live on 500K in This Town by Allen Sulkin

Conclusion: The more money you make, the more money you spend due to peer pressure.

 Premises: Having high salary results in a person spending more money because they feel the need to live up to their financial class; as a result, their living expenses are higher. For example, their taxes, homes, cars, wardrobe, and childcare costs are higher than the average working class. 

From the Perfect Salary to Keeping Up With the Joneses by Corey Stieg

Conclusion:  Material items do not always buy happiness, but experiences and charity contributions might.

Premises: Seeing someone make more money than you or have something you don’t have makes you feel like you’re not making enough; you aren’t fully satisfied. Spending money on objects does not make people feel thrilled either. You experience a euphoria moment, but after you dread the purchase. People who spend money on time-saving services such as takeout and cleaning services feel happier because they save time to do other things. People who spend money on experiences such as traveling, dinner dates, and charity feel a sense of rewarding. They have the memory of doing something positive, not an object that reminds them of what they spent. 

I agree that money, materials, and unlimited choices do not make you a happier person. The two authors, Cory Steig And Allen Salkin and the speaker Barry Schwartz made it evident with their examples and research. In Barry’s video, he showed a variety of cartoons that portrayed his message. One of my favorite ones was the man at work, but he was thinking about golf; at golf, he was thinking about having breasts in his face, when he had the breast, he was thinking about work. He was never happy with what he thought he wanted; he kept wanting more.

Another example is the woman getting a cell phone with upgraded options, but she just wanted a simple phone, just like Berry wanted a simple pair of jeans. He had so many choices, but he did not feel as satisfied as he thought he would.  I think we all fall into this category as well. We always think about ways things can go better instead of being happy with our results. Just as the article from Cory Steig stated, having money and buying things does not buy happiness or a sense of fulfillment. As Steig quoted Lynbomirsky, “How you spend your money is really critical to your happiness.” I can attest to this, and to clarify, I’m not rich. I feel guilty when I buy things for myself, but it brings me happiness when buying stuff for my kids or giving someone a gift. I also agree with Allen Salkin’s article that the more money you make, the more you spend. Higher-class people spend more money to live up to their economic class and fit in with their peers. But we also, as low-income and middle-class people, spend more money to fit in as well. Also, if we get a raise, we spend more money instead of saving it or investing it.

Money makes the world go round, but it makes us, the people halt and sometimes reverse since we dwell on what we spent or the options we could’ve made.