           “Making green”, “getting bank”, “bringing home the bacon”, all terms for making money. Since birth your parents instill in you that you will to go to college, so you can get a good job, and start your career so you can live a comfortable life. However, would this increase in financial income make you happy? Statistics are now proving even though America every year is getting wealthier, our average happiness is decreasing. In the psychological atmosphere happiness is measured by asking the person to rate their happiness; which is based on social and family life, career, and emotions. Wellbeing and happiness have been proven to help a person perform better in the workplace, have a better outlook towards life, and earn more money. However, after someone acquires money, an opinion is that buying a costly material item will make them happy, but that is not the case. In America happiness is obtainable through spending money to gain control in life, save time, have experiences, and spend money on others.

Since the Second World War, despite getting richer, America hasn’t shown improvements in average levels of happiness. Even though every year household incomes are increasing in the United States the average level of happiness has stayed stagnant or slightly decreased. It is not that today millennials have less things that make them happy or worse conditions than Generation X people but that things that make each generation happy have changed. Generation X consists of the people who were born around 1960 to around 1970. A time when people were getting laid off, most people didn't have much money, and children normally had to care for themselves or another sibling. Millennials are considered to be born from the 1980’s to the 2000’s and grew up with more money (averaging all of the salaries in the United States), typically grew up more sheltered, and had more schooling than any other generation (Taylor).  Those from Generation X are happier with materialistic objects than millennials, while millennials have found greater happiness in people, relationships, experiences, expression, and control. The shift from personal happiness to materialistic happiness in recent centuries has changed the happiness spectrum for people in America. 

In reality a person cannot control huge life events, but people can control what they strive for. People who believe they can reach a certain goal are more likely to pursue that goal. Through this pursuit of the goal, people want to achieve it more and more, because of the satisfaction of meeting a certain objective and feeling capable. Many of these desired goals are or involve following jobs, careers, or economic advancements. People who have control of their lives understand their financial situation, whether they can afford to buy certain things or not (Kreuger).

In the world people and companies have tried to obtain this control in different ways. Regular everyday people try to control their financial situation by hiring advisors to balance outcoming and incoming money. Demand for therapists and life coaches have increased by over 50% in the last 40 years. The concept of control over situations within people's lives have slowly diminished. Large companies have started to hire personal relations advisors, google even hiring a “jolly good fellow” to keep the employee’s spirits up. 

The National Opinion Research Center conducted three different studies to figure out what makes people the happiest: friends, family or children. Friends are people who are mutually affectionate towards each other. They can be family, a person you see once a year, a person you see every day, your children, or your spouse. Surveys by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center (referred to as NORC), for example, have found that those with five or more close friends are 50% more likely to describe themselves as “very happy” than those with less than that amount or no friends (Time). Who a person associates with and calls a friend can make a person very happy. This idea would pertain to family members as well since they also follow the same concept of a person who mutually shows affection towards each other.  When studying married couples NORC observed 40% of married couples said they were “very happy”, while only around 20% of single people said they were equally as happy (Time). When parents were polled to see what they enjoyed the most in their life, the majority of couples reported they enjoyed their kids the most (Time). 

People often complain they are in a bind, because they are really busy, and have no control over their time. In general, people with more money often work many hours a week leaving less time for family, activities they enjoy, and their social prowess. This causes a feeling of time stress, which produces lower well-being, reduced happiness, increased anxiety, and insomnia. However, having more money could account for extra money to be spent on other things, out of the “time famine” (Johnson, et al.). Spending your hard-earned cash on services to increase your amount of free time has become a necessity. Such as a person going to the store to buy your groceries for you, this may seem foolish but time is limited, and spending money to give a person more time allows for more of your life to be spent with loved ones. The answer to the problem would be to simply buy your time back. 

When studying Canadians, Americans, Dutch, and Danish people scientists asked multitudes of people, in different financial situations, to spend upwards of forty dollars a week to relieve some time. The forty dollars could include paying someone to clean the house, mow the lawn, walk the dog, daycare, anything to create more time in the working person’s schedule. Participants of the experiment expressed overall better moods, and relieve stress from the experiment.  This would accrue to more time that can be spent with family, friends, or on a person's social life (Aubrey). People in the experiment who spent over a hundred dollars, however felt that they had less control. Even though spending money on daily household things does give more free time it can cause the opposite effect leading to less control which accumulates to less happiness in a person's life (Whillansa).

When it comes to income and materials people often compare their financial status, and amount of belongings to their neighbors, friends, coworkers, and other people around them. The human brain is competitive, wanting better and greater things. The happiest people in an area are the ones with the most money relative to people around them rather than how much money they have all together. This is proven in a study done by Dwight Lee who examines people within an area of the United States where the average annual income is thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars. After asking groups of people how much they make annually the average came out to be a little over fifty thousand dollars. People lied about how much they made because it made them feel better about their situation (Lee).  Human are adaptive beings always wanting something bigger and better, but buying materials does not cut it because there is always something better and more expensive to yearn for. 

People adapt quicker to material possessions but then get bored with them over time. However, experiences such as traveling or taking a vacation offer a different reaction with a person.  An experience is an event that leaves an impression on someone. Spending money on experiences could be anything from picnicking on top of the mountain to taking a month-long trip to Europe. Either way experiences trump the happiness felt from just buying something materialistic. Experiences not only leave the person with a newfound story and adventure but something to tell other people about.  

Participants in a study in by Van Boven and Gilovich were asked what purchases made in the past year over one hundred dollars made them the happiest. Most of the people in the study then concluded their expenditures on experiences such as ski pass, concert tickets, or a road trip made them the happiest (“Experiences”). When asked what regrets people to had concerning not buying something, seventy six percent of the participants described experience related things.  

Past reports and studies have confirmed that people are highly social, and love talking and interacting with each other. Connections between people is also associated with higher levels of wellbeing.  As a result, one reason that experience purchases provide more satisfaction is that it connects people together. People go on vacation, go to restaurants, concerts, and sporting events with other people who enjoy the same activities. A study by Howell and Hill made participants rate how much happiness they experienced from purchases they made (Gilovich). Their results found that people rated this way because of the relations that came between people and their experiences. Experiences not only come with something to tell a person but a story and new adventure, and every one is different. This is not to get confused with having a super bowl party where party goers will watch a person's T.V. they bought. However materialistic purchases in this case are consist and therefore cannot justify a person's happiness. 

As important as possessions might be to a person’s identity and sense of self it’s not as important as a person’s experiences. A person’s experiences add up to make a person's autobiography, no matter how important one’s purchases, when asked about our experiences not many people would say it’s buying an object. In a test of whether experience purchases tied a person's value of themselves, than material purchase participants were asked to write a summary of their life story, who they thought they were, and what their life was about (Gilovich).  When writing their life summary, the participants used experience purchases twice as much as materialistic objects. Buying a new experience not only offers a person something new and fun to do, but something different and unique than any material object could bring.

Spending money on people can be anything from taking someone out for dinner to giving copious amounts of money to charity. For many people having more money means spending more on one’s self. According to Elizabeth W. Dunn, Lara B. Aknin, Michael Norton the mere thought of money to some people can steer them away from spending it on someone else. In the United States in 2014 around thirty percent of people below the poverty line gave to charity, giving around three percent of their income to charity. While only twenty percent of the wealthier population of America gave to charity, only giving around one percent of their income to help others (Elizabeth). Generally in today's society the “rich” people are some of the unhappiest. Analysts have presented the theory that more people in lower economic classes give money to charity because they can identify with some of the struggles accompanied with lack of money. 

Prosocial happiness is defined as spending money on others or charity, which then results in happiness. Just like showing gratitude towards someone, prosocial spending makes a person feel better not only about themselves but promotes a positive self-image for people to see. Even though prosocial spending is described as buying someone a material object to make someone happy, a prosocial spender is buying the experience to help or please somebody (Dunn). This spending on other people usually would occur for a loved one or friend, then strengthening the already existing tie between the people. There is also evidence that the benefits of prosocial behavior can be felt when we are as young as toddlers. The best way to get the “warm glow” associated with prosocial behavior is to give someone something that relates to one or more basic human need; connection to other humans, eating, sleeping, drinking or the control of a situation or event (Elizabeth). 

Spending money on others has a noticeable effect on the brain shown through MRI’s, and on the body, shown through emotions. It can be used by people to foster better characteristics within other people. Generally, those who prosocial spend are better liked by people around them, and have better psychological health.  While prosocial spending helps those on the receiving end to form stronger bonds and grow closer to the spender. In the business atmosphere prosocial spending is often used as a motivator or incentive for employees. After receiving the prosocial spending studies have found that the employees are more connected with each other as a team, and get more done because they feel as if their cause and company care about them (Norton).

In a recent study using MRI technology scientists have concluded that when giving to a worthy cause, the midbrain lights up. This is the same area that lights up after fulfilling a craving, such as eating after being very hungry. People who are rich and poor are happy alike, no matter the economic status. Being connected to the cause also is very important, understanding how and why a person is donating to a fund is key. Having a personal connection with a cause helps a person grasp where exactly their hard-earned money is going (Dunn). People who donate experience an almost therapeutic and healing effect.

Some opponents however may say that some in lower economic classes can't afford to spend money on anything outside of their budget. However, in an experiment conducted by Dr. Daniel Norman at the University of British Columbia, Canada, participants were given either five or twenty dollars. Some were asked to spend it on another person, while some were asked to spend it one themselves. Some people bought coffee, plush toys, or even makeup and earrings. People who gave their money to other people felt happier than those who chose to spend on themselves. Some people met a new friend, and some said they connected with an old one, while the people who spent money on themselves felt the same. Surprisingly the dollar value didn't matter, people who spent more did experience higher levels of well-being that those given less. The experiment by Daniel Norman proves even small amounts of money can provide people with a sense of happiness (Norton). The smallest proven amount being roughly five dollars, the equivalent of not splurging on two cups of coffee a month.

The overall problem is that people are earning more and more money each year believing that this accruement of money will make them happy, however it is making them sadder. Nevertheless, that hard earned cash if spent correctly can help to make a person feel happier. Control is a key factor, because without control a person feels out of touch with their surroundings and will always be unhappy. Family, friends, and loved ones play a major role in the well-being of a person, and money can be spent in several ways to bolster happiness. Experiences when we are usually accompanied by loved ones, connects a person with their loved ones, and provides a great story in return. Prosocial spending takes the least amount of effort and time; being that anybody can donate to a good cause, or buy someone a gift. The United States and the people in it deserve happiness, because with happiness comes a more motivated and inspired individual. With a better understanding of how to manage wealth, money truly can buy happiness.
