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Argument Paper: Can Money Buy You Happiness?

Some people believe money can buy happiness and others believe money cannot buy

happiness. Some wonder how one can lack money and be happy, while some say a lot of money

can lead to a lack of happiness. In my opinion, money can buy happiness but only in certain

situations like particular life preferences and personality traits.

People who look for a high-quality life can find happiness through money. According to

Christopher Peterson, a professor of psychology, there is a positive correlation between earnings

and happiness or life satisfaction (Ngamaba et al., p.2020). Having a comfortable life is a source

of happiness for those who value material things. If a person does not prefer comfort and a life of

high standards, then material wealth is not their source of happiness.

However, there are three conditions necessary for a positive correlation between earnings

and satisfaction. Having good personal qualities is the first essential condition. Money can

provide one with basic needs like food, warmth and water but cannot help with psychological

needs like love and friendship. If a person does not lack the basic needs, they may achieve the

maximum level of well-being, but not real happiness.

A stable mental state is another essential element of a happy personality. Money cannot

heal one from mental disorders. A person with money can get the best treatment and still not
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achieve happiness. Having mental disturbances can also make one have socialization problems.

Therefore, money cannot buy happiness for a person who is mentally disturbed.

Satisfying the self-actualization needs of personality is the way to achieve the highest

quality of life. Self-actualization is becoming all that one is capable of becoming, according to

Abraham Maslow (Tripathi and Nishi, p.500). A person with money can easily concentrate on

personal development with less concern about basic needs. In this situation, money serves as a

helping tool towards achieving happiness.

In conclusion, money can buy happiness and money cannot buy happiness depending on

the circumstances. Money cannot satisfy all human needs like intimacy and friendship, but it can

help attain these goals. On the contrary, having a lot of money while one is mentally unstable is

useless and cannot help in achieving happiness.

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Work Cited

Ngamaba, Kayonda Hubert, and Debbie Soni. "Are happiness and life satisfaction different

across religious groups? Exploring determinants of happiness and life satisfaction."

Journal of religion and health 57.6 (2018): 2118-2139.

Tripathi, Nishi. "A valuation of Abraham Maslow's theory of self-actualization for the

enhancement of quality of life." Indian Journal of Health and wellbeing 9.3 (2018): 499-

504.