The Pursuit of Happiness

Words By Patricia Alexandra Zurita
Art by Ashely Sánchez

Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness…

…says the person who hasn’t been graced by poverty. If you have lived without basic needs, I’m preaching to the choir. But if you have never in your life been at a financial disadvantage, I’m going to tell you something. Money sure as hell does buy happiness, or at least the oblivion you’ve lived in. Having enough money to secure a roof over your head, reliable transportation, and having a belly full of all the flavors left to you by your ancestors brings an insurmountable amount of joy.

Yet, we are indoctrinated to believe that money isn’t everything, but you’re vilified if you can’t pay your bills on time. Well, there’s help available for those in need, but if you take any help, you’re a burden to the system. The same system that left you behind from the moment you entered the doors of your local school. I guess since it’s free you should be grateful for the education you receive. No matter how your life turns out. 

Life slaps you in the face when you finish whatever final education level you choose to pursue. Most people who graduate from any education system don’t have the slightest clue on how to maintain a personal budget, save money, interest, compounded interest daily vs. annual, an APY, an APR, variable vs. fixed interest rate, Roth account, 401K, and the list can go on. These are all basic needs you should know to understand money and how it impacts your life.  In school, you aren’t taught any of this or how money and credit really work. Students who have an advantageous life don’t have to worry about learning these types of things because they learn it at home through observation and mimicking a parent. Those are the outliers. Students coming out of the free education system would highly benefit from ongoing courses about money and managing personal finances. But before having the liberty to make our money grow wages need to reflect the cost of basic needs. 

“Liberty to even learn how to grow your money is the privilege of a chosen few. Most don’t have the disposable income to save for a rainy day, let alone invest.”

Liberty to even learn how to grow your money is the privilege of a chosen few. Most don’t have the disposable income to save for a rainy day, let alone invest. A Federal Reserve survey from May 2023 showed that 37% of Americans cannot cover a $400 expense if an emergency were to occur. That just says to me that most people are living paycheck to paycheck in the land of the free. Hey, but you can always pick yourself up from your bootstraps and hustle. However, I will tell you this, it is not “hustling” when you have been at a disadvantage from the inception of birth. You’ve been in survival mode the entire time and with no end in sight. But something has to give, right? 

The pursuit of happiness ideally should be achievable for all. In the land of opportunity, we have forgotten about the tired, poor, and huddled masses. We have left our most vulnerable, the ones I have personally seen with the most grit and passion, to fend for themselves and enter survival mode. Then we wonder why by the age of 35 much of the workforce is burned out. They have been in survival mode and trying to break free since birth. And the implication is losing yourself in trying to make ends meet and the hardest part is realizing that happiness has yet to grace your life.