Although money can buy us nice things, happiness is the true key to determining the quality of one’s life. The whole reason that many people crave riches is because they need those riches to provide them with objects and opportunities that can contribute to happiness. Money can definitely contribute to a person’s quality of life, but for most individuals the purpose of money is to cultivate happiness.

However, happiness can be found in a variety of ways that do not directly require money, like a game of basketball or a hug. First of all, when we reflect on our day, we judge it not by the amount of money we made, but by whether or not we enjoyed it, and money is not necessarily required for us to enjoy ourselves. Secondly, there are many highly respected individuals who are simply amazing at a certain task. A Nobel Prize winner may not be making a million dollars a year, but he could still have a high quality lifestyle, knowing that he has contributed to making the world a better place.

Einstein, one of the greatest minds throughout history, could definitely say his life was successful. He changed both the physics world and the actual world, with his many theories and he indirectly contributed to the creation of the atomic bomb. Nobody would doubt Einstein’s high quality of life. However, Einstein did not live on a five acre estate, with a personal chef and a limo. He resided in a modest house no different from all of the others in Princeton. This is the case for the general population as well. They may not have piles upon piles of money, but they still claim to have a high quality life, because of things like happiness and self satisfaction.

This is not to say that money has no part to play in the pursuit of happiness. A person who is hungry, homeless, stressed about paying the bills, forced to work two jobs, etc. will not have the resources necessary to seek out the sorts of things that do make us happy. Things like leisure time, the ability to provide for one’s family, the ability to pursue education, to travel, etc. are all dependent on a minimal amount of money. Without this minimal amount of money, one’s quality of life will suffer, but above and beyond it, money doesn’t matter all that much for happiness. It certainly is not the most significant factor in the quality of our lives.