For Most, Money Does Buy Happiness

You’ve no doubt heard the saying “money doesn’t buy happiness”. It’s very likely you heard it from your parents or someone who was not wealthy. The problem with that ideology, is that it’s not true.

Let’s look at some of my Rich Habits study research data:

• 82% of the wealthy in my study said they were happy. 98% of the poor said they were unhappy.
• 87% of the wealthy in my study said they were happy in their marriage. 53% of the poor is my study said they were unhappy in their marriage.
• 92% of the wealthy in my study said they were happy because they were healthy. 22% of the poor in my study said they were unhappy because of poor health.
• 95% of the wealthy in my study said they were happy because their children were doing well in life. 24% of the poor in my study said they were unhappy because their children were not doing well in life.
• 94% of the wealthy in my study said they were happy because they liked what they did for a living. 85% of the poor in my study said they were unhappy because they did not like what they did for a living.
• 0% of the wealthy said they were unhappy due to their finances vs. 98% for the poor.

When you study these statistics, as I have, you realize wealth, or a lack of it, affects so many aspects of your life.

Poverty creates general unhappiness, stress and anxiety. It also negatively affects your marriage, causes health issues and trickles down, negatively impacting your children.

Looking at the flip side of this from my study, wealth creates an overall sense of happiness.

87% of the wealthy in my Rich Habits study said they were happy in their marriages.

The wealthy people in my study were also, which gave them a sense of well-being. Because they were able to use their wealth to help provide a superior education for their children, their children flourished in life, making them also feel happy.

So when someone says “money does not buy happiness”, they’re expressing an ideology, not reality.

Being wealthy may not create happiness but it most certainly eliminates the ongoing unhappiness poverty creates.

Tom Corley

Tom Corley is an accountant, financial planner, public speaker, and author of the books “Effort-Less Wealth: Smart Money Habits At Every Stage of Your Life” and “RichKids: How to Raise Our Children to Be Happy and Successful in Life“.  Corley’s work has appeared on CNN, USA Today, The Huffington Post, SUCCESS Magazine, and many other media outlets and podcasts in the U.S. and 27 other countries. Tom is a frequent contributor to Business Insider and CNBC.