Happiness = £42,000?
Published: May 12, 2010
“What’s the price of happiness? For an average Briton, it’s a home worth 500,000 pounds and an annual salary of 42,000 pounds, a new study has revealed.” (rediff.com Business)
For some perspective, the Global Rich List website tells us that a person earning £42,000 per year (approximately $62,500US) is in the top 1% richest people in the world.
Elsewhere, the survey linked above reports that only 9% of Britons are completely happy with their finances, so it seems like most have a long way to go to be happy. At least, if finances are the sole measure of happiness.
I found it interesting that the article is titled “Price of happiness? It’s 42,000 pounds!” and happiness is essentially equated with financial success. One commenter seems to agree. Under the title “BOTTOMLINE!!!!” their succinct comment states, in its entirety, “Money = Happiness.”
But another commenter takes a different view: “Money money everywhere, not a penny for happiness.” Or to put it another way, in contrast to those bumper stickers that read “He who dies with the most toys wins,” I’ve heard it said that “The one who dies with the most toys is still dead.”
Everyone wants to be financially stable, but equating money and happiness in the way the article does is mistaken. What most people really want, I think, is to live life to its fullest. While money may help facilitate this, becoming the kind of person we were meant to be can’t be purchased at any store. Barb Erochina’s article “Living Life to the Fullest” explores this idea, and doesn’t mention money once. It’s worth considering as an alternative to the “Money = Happiness” equation.
