5 of 10 Compelling Reasons Why Money Can’t Buy

Happiness: Read the text and underline key words as you do so.
READ THE TEXT AND UNDERLINE / HIGHLIGHT KEY WORDS AND WRITE KEY WORDS
EXPRESSIONS. OF PARAGRAPH:
More possessions = more
1. More Stuff = More Work: One thing that many don’t think about is the more stuff work to care for them.

you own; the more work it takes to take care of it. Think about the home you live in. In Today, homes are bigger
so more time to clean
1960, the average home size was 1,000 square feet. Today, home sizes have exploded. them.

While living in a bigger home may sound great, it does have its negatives to consider. It
takes more time and effort to clean a larger home.

2. More Stuff = Less Free Time: The more stuff you own, the less free time you will
have to enjoy life because you’ll be spending time maintaining and cleaning the things you
bought. One of the most valuable assets we have is our time. Sadly, when many aren’t
working at their jobs, they come home to take care of chores around the house and miss out
on much-needed rest. The larger the home you have, for example, the more of your free
time you will have to spend cleaning it or taking care of DIY projects. The same thing goes
for your vehicles. If you buy a fancy car to drive on the weekends, for example, it may get
dirty, causing you to spend much of your free time washing it, waxing it, and cleaning the
interior.

3. More Stuff = More Expenses: The more things you own; the more money you
will have to spend to maintain those things. Bigger houses, for example, need more repairs
than smaller ones. There’s more that can go wrong or break. Unfortunately, repairs are a
necessary part of homeownership but can be expensive. And if you try to do them yourself,
there goes your free time again. Bigger houses also cost more to live in. The more square
footage you have, the more money it costs to heat and cool your home. There’s also the
issue of property taxes. Bigger houses are usually worth more, and that means you have to
pay more in property taxes each year. Don’t let your stuff own you. The more stuff you
own, the more work and money it takes to maintain it. Sometimes less is more. Owning less
stuff can free up some of your time to do things you enjoy.

4. Buying Things Only Provides Temporary Satisfaction: Money can buy short-
term happiness or satisfaction. Nearly everyone has experienced a high when they’ve
bought something they’ve been desiring. But those feelings of satisfaction are usually
temporary. They may last a few weeks before they fade away and that new thing is no
longer interesting or exciting. Science has confirmed that we derive more satisfaction
from our experiences than from buying things. Experiences can be more meaningful,
and they don’t have to cost a lot, either. Getting together with a few friends you
haven’t seen in a while, for example, may give you far more satisfaction than buying
that big-ticket item you’ve been eyeballing. An evening with your friends could create
a great memory that could last a lifetime. The big-ticket item you buy will eventually
wear out and need to be replaced.

5. Keeping up with the Joneses Isn’t Fun: One reason why so many think that money
can buy happiness is because they see their neighbors and others around them living in large
mansions, driving fancy cars, and pursuing expensive hobbies, and it really looks like they
are enjoying life – they genuinely look happy. So they desire the same lifestyle for
themselves. The problem with trying to keep up with the Joneses is that there’s always going
to be someone new who comes along who has more stuff than you. The continual desire for
more stuff forces people to work more or harder to buy the things they think they can’t live
without. The root of the problem with keeping up with the Joneses is envy. It’s about
continually desiring what other people have and never being satisfied with what you already
have. Envy will eat you alive. It will rob you of your happiness and keep you from
experiencing true happiness in life.

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT AND WRITE A FULL SENTENCE TO ANSWER:

1: What does the word STUFF mean? ______________________________________

2: What are the full words for the letters; DIY? Do it Yourself

3: Who are the Joneses? Mr and Mrs Jones

4: What does ‘eyeballing’ mean? keep an eye on

5: Which items are expensive that people want? House

6: What are some of the problems with having a big house? Property taxes
 7: What ‘thing’ doesn’t cost a lot of money? WHY? Experiences

8: Write the name of one expensive hobby discussed. Pursuing expensive hobbies

9: Why does the author mean when they say; “One of the most valuable assets we
have is our time”? ___________________________________________________

10: What stuff do you own needs to be maintained and cared for? Time

DEFINITION OF WORD: WORD/s FROM PARAGRAPH

TEXT & LINE number
11: slowly disappear / lose interest Fade away 4 - L4
take care 1 – L2
12: keeping / looking after
genuinely 5 – L4
13: really , honestly

14: items, possessions, products, things we own

15: stop working, can’t function any more, stops

16: want, needing & wanting something greatly

17: To have as yours, you paid for it / bought it

interior
18: To make something shine by rubbing it
Property taxes
19: Money paid to the government

20: Important, high-priced item, such as a house or car.