Money Can't Buy Happiness: The Truth About Wealth, Love, and Real Life

Life encounters difficulties everywhere, both in the wealthy districts of the city and in the poorer areas. Undeniably, money is necessary for happiness, because bills and the expenses required to live must be covered, yet happiness is still a completely different matter. If it were simply a matter of money, everyone who had plenty would be happy, and anyone living on a modest income would be unhappy—but this is far from the case. Surely everyone knows people in their circle who are far wealthier than average, yet are unhappy. The passionate fire of their marriage has long since cooled; they live side by side in a home that is either quietly tense or filled with shouting. “Why would we divorce?” they look at you when the subject comes up. At least this way, they have everything; even if they’re not happy, they can live their lives comfortably, in prosperity. There is no need to worry about tomorrow—they can be certain that both the near and presumably distant future will provide them with everything necessary for a secure, peaceful life.

They are unfaithful to each other—they don’t even deny it—but, well, who isn’t these days? Love and money do not necessarily go hand in hand, but that doesn’t matter. Money isn’t everything; in fact, it may matter even less for happiness than we think. I nod to myself as I recall a mother of three from one of the poorer neighborhoods of the city, with whom I used to go to the grocery store in the mornings. “Five of us live in a single room,” she told me when I asked about her life. The love between her and her husband had long since faded—he had often cheated on her while she was pregnant with their third child, and their relationship had grown quite distant. “But I won’t get a divorce,” she continued. “I couldn’t even go anywhere with three kids. We have nothing, just this little apartment. And besides, no one loves my children like their own father does. If I had money, I wouldn’t still be with him—but I am helpless.” I realize quickly that people are bound together by poverty just as much as by wealth. In one case, they don’t divorce because at least there is some financial security; in the other, they don’t because financial security is lacking. I do not judge anyone; I simply observe events and people. I quietly examine their lives and try to understand them, because everyone has their own reasons for the choices they make. Agatha Seymour /This piece was written years ago. As I return, it finds its place here once again, unchanged./