The state of being happy- happiness. We all aspire for different things in life. For some people it’s to be successful, have a stable income, and be happy (at least that’s mine). But, others just think about the money, the lavish lifestyles, the houses, and the unlimited supply to whatever they want. The thing is though, money can’t buy you your happiness forever.

Splurging on yourself by buying yourself a new shirt, or those shoes you’ve had in your cart for months can make you smile. Personally I can admit I’m quite a materialistic person. I love to shop, coming home with something new and different to show off is exciting. Clothes is a way to express yourself and show who you really are, showing your style. Sure, it makes me happy to see those new shoes in the mail. But, it’s not long term- the shoes start out bright and clean then slowly begin to dull, just like the happiness they brought me.

Money is a good distraction, going out and spending it all can get your mind off of things. You begin to surround yourself with things that you think will make you happy. Yet, all they’re there to do is prevent you of thinking about what is truly bothering you.

Commonly people love to buy a lottery ticket. The thrill of getting money by just scratching a card with a coin, or just having a lucky association of numbers. But many people who have had the “luck” of winning the lottery would call it a curse.

“About 70 percent of people who suddenly receive a windfall of cash will lose it within a few years, according to the National Endowment for Financial Education” (Chan).

When you’re just given money the common thought is to just spend. When you accumulate a lot quickly, you probably don’t know how to control the power of wealth. Having a lot of money comes with a lot of power. Instead of making people happy it can tear people apart.

Financial consultant for lottery winners, Don McNay said “‘So many of them wind up unhappy or wind up broke. People have had terrible things happen’’ (Chan).

Having that kind of power can lead to people losing who they really are and trading it for something that money makes them. Not happy but lost. Without thinking you can lose everything. One minute you’ll be fine, happy without a care in the world; then in the next second you’re lost scrambling to find what made you lose everything. The answer, it was you’re lose of control. You’re ability to not be able to handle your money and the temptations with big price tags.

That smile you wear once you hand someone a dollar bill doesn’t last long. You can’t buy yourself that happiness. Happiness doesn’t have a price tag, it’s something you find on your own.