Money plays an essential role in society. But often we do not look further than its simplistic associations; a currency you can exchange for goods and services, a neutral tool that translates qualitative characteristics of something into quantitative. It is what we work for so we can pay our bills, spend on the things we like and maybe amass it to achieve a stronger feeling of security or status. 

All these definitions are of course correct but beyond that, money has so much more influence on our lives than that. It plays a significant role in our complex web of social dynamics, affecting our health and happiness in numerous ways. So let’s discuss some ‘re-framings’ of money and how it intertwines with our lives:

• Our attitudes to money affect our (romantic) relationships. More specifically, having different attitudes towards spending and money leads to lower relationship satisfaction. For this it is important to talk about the two main different attitudes towards spending (from this article): 
  
  

“First, there are money motives related to personal growth, such as seeing money as a way to feel pride, to be compensated fairly, to facilitate freedom, and to enrich leisure activities. For some people, these are highly important factors; for others, less so. 

A contrasting group of money motives has largely to do with addressing personal shortcomings: it includes seeing money as a means to feel better than others, to suppress self-doubt, and to be able to spend impulsively without requiring forethought. 

While both sorts of money motives occur across income levels, the growth-oriented motives have been associated with greater life satisfaction, whereas the shortcoming-related ones have been linked to lower wellbeing.”

However, interestingly, it does not necessarily matter which attitude towards money you have in isolation, as the most important factor for relationship satisfaction is whether your attitude towards money matches with your partner. Couples with similar attitudes are more happy on average, regardless of which attitude they hold. 

“The way people view money, then, likely has a meaningful connection not only to their financial choices or general happiness, but also their romantic relationships. This link could be due in part to more or less conflict about financial decisions in the household. But it could also exist because money motives say something about who a person is and how they want to shape their life.”

• Money affects our happiness (despite popular opinion). Little over a year ago we wrote a piece on money and its effect on happiness. A small recap:

“Why doesn’t a whole lot more money make us a whole lot more happy? One answer to this question is that the things that bring happiness simply aren’t for sale. This sentiment is lovely, popular, and almost certainly wrong.” 

Read about it in this brilliant scientific review on how money does make you happy (extra credits for a scientific article that is written in a humorous and playful way, making it far easier to digest).

A recent study rejected the idea that there is something of an upper limit after which more money does not make you any happier. Sky’s the limit! The researchers did however add two important sidenotes: First, the more happiness you want, the more expensive it gets. And second, money is not nearly as important as other factors.

• Money impacts your (mental) health, and vice versa. Instead of money making you happy, it can also negatively impact your mental health. And because of a self-perpetuating cycle it is sometimes hard to escape. Financial troubles lead to stress and anxiety, worsening your mental health. In turn, a decreased mental health makes it harder to earn money, ask for help and it impairs your decision making, leading to more financial problems, etc etc.

The longer we struggle with our mental health or our finances, the greater the likelihood that one will adversely affect the other. A British research among people people aged 25-54 (i.e. prime working age) found that those who had long-term mental health problems were: 

• Nine times more likely to have struggled financially than people who have never experienced a mental health problem.
• More likely to have had low incomes – with an average income gap of £3,360 a year compared to people without mental health problems.
• Nearly four times as likely to have been behind on bills than people without mental health problems.

On the other hand, an American survey found that 54% of adults with debt say they always or often feel stressed because of their debt, and due to this debt-related stress, 48% reported sleep problems, 40% had higher anxiety, 38% led diminished social lives and 34% experienced depression.

In conclusion, money is much more than just a token we exchange for goods. It pervades our lives in many meaningful (but not always readily apparent) ways. At TrendsActive we want to help brands reach the deeper human needs behind everyday behavior and decisions. So which role of money are you addressing in your customers’ lives?