Money and Happiness

Money can’t buy happiness but it solves 95% of the problems that make you unhappy.  - @gselevator

Money can’t buy happiness. There is a fair amount of truth to this. Research has suggested that the utility of additional wealth starts to significantly decline after about $70,000 of income a year. That being said, a good use of money as it relates to happiness is using it to avoid things that make you unhappy. For example, I absolutely hate doing laundry. It drives me crazy and I don’t like worrying about it. I pay someone about $20 a week to do my laundry. Over one year that is about $1,000, which could certainly be put to better use. However, for me it is worth it to avoid doing something that makes me unhappy. If I can go through life having never to do my own laundry, it will be money well spent. As we have discussed on this blog before, money is not the end; it is the means to an end. And while we all understand the phrase “money can’t buy happiness,” we might consider using money to avoid unhappiness.