Money Can’t Buy Happiness

By: Rachel McKane

            Growing up in America is a luxury that not many can afford across the world. Some might say that money makes the world go round, but is that really true?  The world poverty rate in 2010 was 21%. “The facts show that we can get it [world poverty] to virtually zero within a generation, but only if we act,” said Bono, a European musician, during a TED talk in February 2013. Bono a highly involved  activist concerning Africa for which he cofounded multiple organizations such as DATA and Product Red. These numbers are only achievable if people in our community and students at Riverbend begin to take action.

To the rest of Spotsy county, Riverbend is considered a “rich school,” and being a transfer student from Chancellor, when students mentioned Riverbend at Chancellor some students would cringe and say that Riverbend students are rich and spoiled.  Being at Riverbend this year has opened my eyes to see that not all stereo-types are true. That not all Riverbend students are stuck-up and rich, not all care about what others think and that they are not afraid of being themselves.

There are multiple articles written stating that America is one of the wealthiest countries, for example a Forbes article titled “America is the World’s wealthiest Country-Here’s why that’s a problem,” so why does our country need a reason for helping others?  Which puts the matter at hand to the test, why can’t money, here in America, buy happiness? Lexie Barrales, a sophomore, said, “Happiness is a feeling and you can’t buy feelings.”

Greedy people can never have too much; the definition of greedy, according to dictionary.com,  is a person who strongly desires more than is required or necessary.  Which brings up the question: does one really need the newest iPhone just because it has a fingerprint lock? No. Is it necessary to only wear a certain outfit once? No. As a student, you don’t need the newest gadgets to succeed; all you need are good teachers and administrators to help you desire to do well and achieve your goals. Now-a-days people seem to be more self-centered with their money, all they think about is themselves and how their wealth is reflected to others.  Put yourself in someone else’s shoes, “If I was less fortunate, I wouldn’t be as happy,” said Barrales.

If you are fortunate enough to have extra luxuries, give your time at a food bank or homeless shelter. Helping is considerably more valuable than money.
Life isn’t about collecting money to make others jealous, it’s about donating time to help those in the community.

Can Money Buy Happiness? Yes.

By: Hailey Matthews

Although money certainly is not the most important thing in life, it does affect almost every aspect of our lives and is crucial to the happiness of people when it is not used selfishly.

The way to have a great life is living with good experiences, and in today’s world, that is not cheap. How you spend your money is important to your happiness, and according to a video by ASAP Science, material possessions tend to give humans less satisfaction than experiences. “Instead of using my money to buy myself clothes or electronics all the time, I prefer to spend it on lunch dates or other experiences with my friends and family,” said sophomore Cameron Militello.

Another way to improve happiness is by spending money on others. People who give away gifts or money tend to experience more happiness than those who spend money on themselves. Without money in today’s society, people would struggle to survive. Sophomore Katelyn Hartmann said, “Money is a necessity because it pays for what we could not live without, and without the things we absolutely need in life, such as clothing, a home, food and water, we certainly would not be happy.”

It is clear that money is certainly a huge factor in the happiness of human beings. While it may not be the most important thing in life, without it people would be miserable.