Does money buy happiness? In my opinion, I think it can buy a measure of happiness because it allows you to have a greater number of choices in life. If you have money, you can choose steak over chicken, if that’s your thing. If you have money, you can choose to work or not work, full-time. If you have money, you can choose whether to live in the ghetto or a nice neighborhood.

I compare money to a tool in a tool box, you use it to get things done. Are you really overjoyed to be in possession of that hammer? Does that saw really make you giddy with joy? Well it’s possible, but the real happiness is not with the “tool”, but in the benefits that tool brings.

Even after someone accumulates a lot of money it does not guaranty a constant happiness. I can think of a handful of entertainers who seem to “have it all”, but their life shows they are not happy. Why? George Loewenstein, an economist at Carnegie Mellon University says: “Part of the reason is that people aren’t very good at figuring out what to do with the money.” They have the “tools”, but they don’t know how to use them properly. Imagine if you used your saw incorrectly, the results could be devastating!

While money can bring some happiness, it’s not enough. Our primary goal in life cannot be to pursue money, I think happiness in life has to do with choice and purpose. Simply being in possession of the “tool” is not enough, the novelty wears off.

So if money doesn’t bring lasting happiness, then what does? There’s a quote Suze Orman says at the closing of her show each week and it goes like this: People first, then money, then things. This is not her exact definition, but it’s the way I look at it: When we value people with our money we are able to do things that brings happiness.  People first, then money, then things.

This is just my own personal view of money and happiness. Can money buy happiness? You bet! Can money make you miserable, absolutely! Look at the tools in your toolbox and build with a purpose.

How much money would it take to make you happy? Do you think that money can buy happiness or even the key to it? If you never had to worry about money again, but still had to work, what would you do? I think your answer would be what truly makes you happy.