My dad is one of those people who believe that rich people are extremely intelligent. He always tells me that people who are rich are skillful and powerful. He believes people with a lot of money have much fewer problems than people who don’t. He also believes that rich people live in a paradise. To my dad, someone’s success in life is reflected in how much money that person owns. Sure money can help with many problems and help get many things a person wants, but it doesn't buy everything.  The problem is that money doesn’t mean everything in life. Someone could have accomplished many extraordinary things in life and not be extremely rich. Rich people usually have more luck than skills. How much money alone shouldn’t reflect how successful someone is. Wealthy people aren’t smarter than average, are often stressed, don’t have the best love life, and aren’t always happier.

First, one of the things is that money doesn’t reflect intelligence. Many people believe that the wealthier the person, the more intelligent they are however an article titled “Do you make much more money than others because you’re smarter?” last updated on 23 February 2023 by CORDIS on the website CORDIS shows that it isn’t all that true. Though intelligence does impact the amount of money a person has, it levels off and even decreases at the top 5% earner. The top 1% of wealth scores lower on an intelligence test than That showing that wealth and intelligence don’t directly correlate. An article titled “Are rich people more intelligent? Here's what the science says” published by Giovanni Sala and Fernand Gobet on June 2, 2023, on the website phy added that luck plays a factor in being wealthy. Having luck like being born into a wealthy family or winning the lottery doesn’t require intelligence. Some people who value intelligence choose less-paying jobs over better-paying jobs if it relates more to intelligence so they learn more. They might also avoid higher-paying jobs because can also be more stressful.

Second, another thing money doesn’t reflect is stress level. Though many people believe that having a lot of money lowers stress, an April 18, 2018 article titled “This is the real downside of making more money, according to a new study” written by Zameena Mejia on CNBC proves otherwise. A poll done on 1,000 people who are employed in the U.S. shows that people who make 51 thousand dollars to 75 thousand dollars a year have the least amount of stress. It also shows that making more money starts to increase stress. This proves that making an average income is more than enough to support a decent lifestyle. The trade-off for more money might actually do more harm than good. An article founded on UML published by UML titled “Job Stress Health Effects” last accessed on April 16, 2024, explains that having job stress can cause headaches, difficulty concentrating, short temper, and job dissatisfaction. If the stress continues for a long time, it can lead to many disorders, injuries, and bad habits. Not making enough money can be stressful however most higher-paying jobs can be just as if not more stressful. The extra money can help make the stress worth it to some people and help improve some aspects of a person’s life, however, it cannot buy some things like love.

Third, wealth doesn’t guarantee a happy love life. An article written by Bijan Kholghi, a certified life coach, titled “19 Reasons Why You Can’t Buy Love With Money” published in 2024 on the website coaching-online claims that money can’t buy love. The article states that love is about “souls connecting.” If a person’s only reason to be with someone is for his or her money, that person has a chance of leaving for someone richer. They also might marry someone and then divorce to take some of the fortune. One example is Elon Musk, the richest person in the world. He has been divorced three times and then split with his wife. Love is about giving to the other person. For love to work, both people have to give something for the relationship instead of one person giving money for love. People who give money for love aren’t feeling true love and lack some of the advantages of real love. The problem is that a person’s partner might get so used to money that it stops being exciting. That makes the relationship extremely difficult. Money makes it difficult to see if a person likes the money or the actual person. Wealthy people aren’t guaranteed to have a stable love life. This shows that having more money isn’t always better and money itself doesn’t reflect a person’s life. A happy love life can help with overall happiness.

Finally, the overall happiness doesn’t rise when wealth rises. According to an article titled “Does more money correlate with greater happiness?” published on March 6, 2023, by Michele W. Berger on the website Penntoday, They found that money helps with happiness to a certain extent. They stated that the rise of more money doesn’t always mean more happiness. Happiness increases with money until it reaches 100k dollars a year where more money doesn’t improve happiness that much. One reason for that is if a person is unhappy and rich, all of the money in the world wouldn’t help make that person happy. Another factor is that higher pay can cause stress which in turn lowers overall happiness. An October 30, 2017 article titled “How Does Valuing Money Affect Your Happiness?” published by Jill Sutte on the website Greater Good found that valuing money can reduce problem-solving skills. They also found that people who value community and relationships were happy and more satisfied with their lives. Having a healthy community and relationships is worth more than money.

Though being wealthy can be great, it isn’t everything. People who have a lot of money aren’t smarter than an average person, are often stressed, don’t have the best love life, and aren’t always happier. Having money can help with life however it shouldn’t reflect someone’s success. Wealth misses out on some important things in life like overall happiness. Being rich doesn’t mean that a person is intelligent. Wealth can’t buy love and it also doesn't lower stress. There is more to life than just money but not everyone can see that. One of the people who can’t is my dad. Even if I spend a whole year explaining that there are other things that can be more useful than money, my dad probably will still disagree with me. For now, I am stuck pretending to agree with him while disagreeing in my head. Hopefully one day he will learn that money doesn't mean everything.