Money Is Not the Root of All Happiness

iStock/Thinkstock(EAST LANSING, Mich.) — You’ve heard the cliché a million times: money can’t buy happiness. Well, maybe there’s something to it after all.

Researchers at Michigan State University and the University of British Columbia aren’t saying that having money is a bad thing since it can make life easier. However, they contend that fewer money worries doesn’t necessarily equate to a happy life.

After reviewing data from 12,300 people who answered a 2010 Census survey that recorded levels of their happiness and income, the researchers discovered that “higher income is associated with experiencing less daily sadness, but has no bearing on daily happiness.”

In other words, happiness and sadness, while different emotions, are not opposite emotions.

So, while money can get people out of predicaments that make them sad, it won’t make them any happier.

As leader author Kostadin Kushlev explains, “People limit their own ability to experience happiness if they let money take over.” Instead, they need to focus on making better choices that will bring them true contentment.

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