Money is the root of all evil. Money cannot buy happiness. There’re 1,001 things money can’t buy. The list goes on (*yawn*). This may be boring and so yesterday, but people who agree with such statements are those who actually don’t have money or have too much money. To say bad things about money is like the fox who couldn’t get the hanging grapes, hence said they were sour.
People who don’t have money will most likely say money cannot buy happiness because that’s the only way to comfort themselves, similar to the fox and grapes story. On the other hand, people who have too much money say the same thing because they become suspicious that people around them are trying to cheat their money.
That’s strange, because if the super rich people really believe money had made them less happy, why don’t they give it all away? Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, became the richest man in China after his company went public on Wall Street. But he claims to be much happier when he was making US$12 a month as a school teacher in 1988.
According to Forbes, Jack Ma today is worth a staggering US$24.3 billion (£15.4 billion; RM91.2 billion). He can creates 24,300 very happy millionaires instantly by giving away all this fortune. Then he can become happier again, but will he do it? Most likely not, and that’s precisely we said the mega rich people were merely bullshitting when they bitch about the evil of money.
Not only the very poor and the very rich “secretly” idolise money, the average people treasure them even more. Try talk to some average income earners who had lost their job due to retrenchments or whatever reasons. See if their marriage or relationship is any better than before they went jobless. Most probably they would be on the verge of a divorce or breakup because of money.
What if you have lots of money and somehow are still not happy? Well, according to a study done by the prestigious Harvard University, if money doesn’t make you happy, then you probably aren’t spending it right. Scientists have studied the relationship between money and happiness for decades and their conclusion is clear – Money Buys Happiness.
There’s another revelation by The Wall Street Journal recently. Dr. Paul Zak, a neuroeconomist (what a fancy title) was asked why shopping makes people happy. Surprisingly, it turns out that shopping doesn’t actually make people happy. Zak explained his studies involved measuring brain activity while people make decisions involving money.
The experiment was done by giving some shoppers at checkout with either US$40 cash or a gift of handmade chocolate. The people who got the cash experienced an immediate and lasting jolt of “oxytocin”, the love and connection hormone in the brain. What about the shoppers given candy and chocolate? They still like it but money beats chocolate.
But why doesn’t shopping make you happy? Apparently, Dr. Paul Zak explained that it was actually stressful when you shop because you had a budget you had to meet. And if you’re shopping with limited of time, it could get worse. So, it’s back to money. With unlimited amount of money to shop, you don’t have to worry about spending within budget or under the pressure of time, do you?
Sure, there’re probably 1,001 things you can’t buy with money, such as talent or natural beauty. But there’re millions of other things you can buy with money. Well, at least you can buy other peoples’ talent to work for you. Or you can go under the knife to get a pretty look. As long as you’re happy, who cares about spending money to get it, right?
Other Articles That May Interest You …
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- Alibaba’s Jack Ma Is China’s Richest Man. Here’s Top-5 Richest People In China
- Here’s What $100 Is Actually Worth In Each State Of America
- How To Save Money This Year – 15 Exciting Tips
- Here’re 11 Amazing Hidden Messages On Dollar Bills
- Debts & Deficits – 21 Currencies That Have Gone Bust
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June 24th, 2015 by financetwitter
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