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Iris Garcia
Dr. McLaughlin
Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric
9 December 2016
Money Doesnt Buy Happiness Its Not Just a Meaningless Sentence
Choose a job you're passionate about. Dont do something just for the money. Follow
your dreams. Money doesnt buy happiness. People hear these statements so frequently
throughout their lives that consequently, they have lost their meaning. If these statements were
true, it seems like there for be less accountants and more basketball stars. However, that just is
not true because there is a larger demand for accountants and it takes a certain very specific set
of skills and requirements to play basketball at a professional level. It is unrealistic to think just
because someone has dreamed of being famous all his life that he will suddenly acquire fame. It
is also just as unrealistic to follow along with what each of the now empty sentences says to do
just because of the way America works. However, there is no reason to think that just because a
certain job is not the one that one dreamed of having as a young, hopeful child, that it cannot be
an enjoyable one. The best way to think about finding jobs is to think of it in an optimistically
realistic way. Do not settle for a job that brings up subtle feelings of disgust when thought of, but
instead find a job that is appealing, but feasible, while also being financially stable enough to live
a comfortable life.
College is where the job hunt truly begins. It is where young students acquire the
necessary skills to go into their field of choice later on. College is also the place to experiment
with different specialties to make sure they actually enjoy the field of work they originally
thought about when first starting. There is no reason why college students cannot find something

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they have a passion for during their education. They are given so much academic freedom to
explore anything they want, and yet, so many go on to do jobs they have little to no passion for;
that could be because of the way children are raised leading up to their college careers. Susan
Engel recounts an event she witnessed at an elementary school in which a few students were
talking about having to do well in school or they would get held back. The conclusion those
students came up with was not the fact that their educations would be pushed back a year, but
that they would have a tougher time getting into college and then they could not be millionaires
(2). That is not a mentality children just somehow develop. It has to be taught and most likely by
the childs parents seeing as they are the most influential people in his impressionable young life.
Until a certain point, a childs beliefs are his parents beliefs and sometimes they grow out of it
and develop their own different set of beliefs, but sometimes they do not. By instilling the
mentality of having to be rich to be happy into children, it becomes more likely that they will
continue believing that that should be their main goal. Wanting money is not a recipe for
disaster, but wanting money and not getting it thats a good recipe for disaster, according to
Professor Kahneman, a professor emeritus of psychology at Princeton (Korkki). The desire for
money is not inherently a bad thing, but pairing that with the idea that money can buy happiness
can in turn lead to unhappiness. Instead of focusing on the money, students should be taught to
focus on the how their continued education will make them a more valued member of society
and how it will enhance their personality to become more well-rounded individuals. If that was
more the ideals parents instilled in their children, when they got to college, they could focus
more on choosing a major that made them content and not just money.
Imagine making $50,000 in a world where everyone else makes $25,000. Now imagine
making $100,000 while everyone else makes $200,000. Which option is the better one?

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Logically, (since the more money one has, the happier one is, right?) the second option. Arthur
Brooks, author of Gross National Happiness writes about a study involving faculty, staff, and
students at Harvard University where 56% chose the former (121). Having money does not seem
to matter when others still have more which is a very interesting concept that seems to be
constantly overlooked. Like the saying goes, Its not enough to succeed your friends have to
fail too (Brooks 120). So then why do people think having more money will make them
happier? The answer is because sometimes money and success become mixed up in peoples
minds since typically they do coincide. That is why people stay with a company for years and
tirelessly climb the corporate ladder. They want more money, not because they love their jobs or
because they desire the added responsibilities of the higher position, but because they feel a need
to be seen as more successful. There are two main, obvious problems with this way of thinking.
One problem is the fact that the more success one has, the more one craves because of the
capitalistic nature of the United States and people in general; the second is the fact that there will
always be someone with more money and more success and if ones happiness depends on being
the best, one must prepare for a lifetime of disappointment.
The hedonic treadmill is a topic that goes right along with the idea of success and the
need to be better than others. The hedonic treadmill is the idea that people get used to what they
have and inevitably want more. Just like how alcohol tolerances can build up over time, people
build tolerances to how much money they have. That is why the average American household
income has increased over the past few decades but the average level of happiness has remained
the same. People just get used to it and then end up wanting more later on. A study was done
where thirty to forty-four year olds were asked how many big things they would like to own in
order to live the good life. On average people had 2.5 and the ideal was 4.3. Sixteen years

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later, the same people were asked this question again. Now, on average people had 3.2 items, but
now wanted 5.4 (Brooks 118). That same study can apply to how much money people would
ideally like to have; if more money truly made people happier, their happiness levels would have
a direct correlation with the growing economy over the years, but it has not. That means there is
no reason to be wasting time finding the job that gives the absolute biggest paycheck since it will
not make any real difference. However, it has been found that having a slightly bigger paycheck
can help ones well-being. Phyllis Korkki of The New York Times found that after about $75,000
per household, money does make a difference in well-being (Korkki). Not having to worry about
paying rent or where ones next meal will come from takes a load off ones shoulders. And while
it is nice to have a big house and three different luxury cars, it is definitely not necessary since
the only rush of joy that will come from those material possessions will be brief and superficial.
Therefore, the amount of money one has really only matters until it has covered the necessities;
beyond that is just a nice bonus that will not contribute significantly to someones overall
happiness.
Having too much money could quite frankly be detrimental to ones health. The more one
has, the more one wants, and after a point, there is no more room to go up. So, what happens?
People wonder how they can have so much and no longer be happy or why they never were to
begin with. Alternatively, if someone starts with an average sum and jumps to a great sum (like
winning the lottery), that could also potentially lead to bad mental health. The idea of winning
the lottery and retiring to a fantastic island in the tropics is one that has crossed the minds of
many over the year but when Mack Metcalf achieved this goal he died three years later. He
already had alcohol and family problems before his win so afterwards those problems just
became worse. He became paranoid that people wanted him around for his money which was

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mostly true or wanted to kill him. Eventually all the alcohol he would drink to get away from
the incessant problems reached his liver and he died (Brooks 111-112). The point is that money
can do great good, but it could also ruin lives. All relationships Metcalf had became soiled at the
mention of the large sum he possessed. That part was not necessarily Metcalfs fault since the
people around him were the selfish greedy ones who just wanted something from him, but had he
not won the lottery, he could have maintained the relationships he previously had and continue to
live a long, normal life.
A strong family and/or social life is key to living a good life because in the end, it is the
people and experiences that make life worth living. Imagine a job that pays a lot of money but
consequently requires a lot of hours so the amount of time that can be spent with the family is
extremely limited. If money equals happiness, then it should not matter that one never sees his
family, right? Wrong. People and family specifically are extremely important peoples happiness.
They are the real reason money can potentially buy happiness. Spending on people and
experiences instead of material possessions is what brings about happiness that will last a longer
period of time. Because of the hedonic treadmill, people will always get used to the amount of
things they have, but thinking of memories can make someone happy years after the event has
occurred. However, if making more money leads to missing out on all those events, then it is not
worth it. Now include the fact that the hypothetical job was chosen just because of the money
and has no real appeal whatsoever. That leads to a miserable work experience. According to
Tomoyuki Kawada with the Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Nippon Medical School,
job satisfaction [is] significantly associated with the depressive state (Kawada and Yoshimura)
meaning that the more dissatisfied someone is with his job, the more likely he will be depressed.
Moreover, because all of ones time is spent in a job he does not care for, and not with the family

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he loves, the depression is even more likely since he has no time to relax and destress from the
loathsome job. Margaret Steen wrote a short article in which she surveyed many IT professionals
and their hopes for their career. While some did say being the CIO (Chief Information Officer), a
significant portion said flexible hours and being able to work from home because they
realized that maintaining their relationships at home was more important than making more
money (Steen). Some college students probably remember the days where they would not see
their parents for days because the parents were busy working to provide for the family, and while
it is obviously appreciated, sometimes the more desired option is having the parents present.
Unlike the ever-ambitious adult, to the innocent child, a parent that is there is more important
than a parent who makes twice as much as his friends parent. Reverting somewhat back to that
childhood innocence could actually be beneficial when thinking about jobs because they have yet
to be influenced by the demanding business world and therefore, still care about the more
important basics more than money.
Aside from the money standpoint, is actual job satisfaction which is the more important
of the two. Job satisfaction is the reason people should stay with an occupation or not. If they
hate it and it is making their lives miserable in and outside the office, they are actually
emotionally damaging themselves for a paycheck that might buy them that new car they desire
but will do nothing for their mental well-being. Finding a job that sparks ones interest actually
makes one work harder because he is more motivated to do a good job and excel. In a job one
finds more mundane, there is no motivation since the job is merely an obligation and the only
pleasure one finds from it is when it is time to leave. In addition, ones mental health could
decline because constantly being forced to partake in something that is just an incredibly tedious,
taxing process is only harmful. Mental health is something that many seem to merely take for

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granted because it is not out in the open like physical health so it is easy to assume all is fine and
forget all about it. However, it is a highly important topic since just about everything else in a
persons life revolves around that, so if a job is lowering ones mental health, it is not worth it no
matter how impressive the paycheck is. Being satisfied in ones job is a simple method to aid
with maintaining ones emotional well-being at a positive level.
There is more to life than money. Many can agree with that on a basic surface level, but
once it comes to actually following through with what that means, many back down. There is so
much information out there to back up the fact that money does not bring any extra happiness to
the majority and yet people tend to focus so much on that when choosing their future
occupations. There is so much more to consider like the hours one will be working, the
environment one will be working in, and most importantly is one actually enjoys the job to begin
with. Job satisfaction can make or break someones general mood since so much time is spent at
work; doing something one hates all day can put someone in a lousy mood even after work
which could then negatively affect those around him, and thus the opposite is true if one loves
his job. While money can make life a bit more convenient and comfortable, the real reward from
it is the success that comes from a job one enjoys and the people one can share the success with.

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Works Cited
Biswas-Diener, Robert, and Ed Diener. Will Money Increase Subjective Well-Being?: A
Literature Review and Guide to Needed Research. Social Indicators Research, vol. 57,
no. 2, Feb. 2002, pp. 119169. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27526987.
Accessed on 2 Nov.

2016.

Brooks, Arthur C. Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America--and How
We

Can Get More of It. New York: Basic, 2008.

Engel, Susan. ProQuest Ebrary. The New Press, Feb. 2015. site.ebrary.com.proxy.library.nd.edu
lib/ndlib/reader.action?docID=11012771. 26 Oct. 2016.
Kawada, Tomoyuki, and Miwako Yoshimura. Results of a 100-point Scale for Evaluating Job
Satisfaction and the Occupational Depression Scale Questionnaire Survey in
Workers.

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 54 (2012): 420-23.

National

Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine,

Apr. 2012.

10.1097/JOM.0b013e31824173ab01. Nov. 2016.

Korkki, Phyllis. Job Satisfaction vs. a Big Paycheck. The New York Times. The New York
Times, 11 Sept. 2010. www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/jobs/12search.html?_r=0. 26
Oct.

2016.

Steen, Margaret. Job Satisfaction is more than Money and Status. EBSCOhost. Infoworld
Publishing Group, 27 Oct. 1997.
bi.galegroup.com.proxy.library.nd.edu/essentials/article/

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A19936266/bb8470bec8fedfe31aac5222de8059a2?u=nd_ref. 26 Oct. 2016.