Teachers dedicate their lives enhancing their students’ future. Firefighters get satisfaction by saving people's lives. Pilots enjoy spending their time up in the air, appreciating the beautiful sights and traveling to various locations. Mothers are fulfilled raising loved ones and bonding with their children. Artists chase their passion through their talent of creating. Others’ use their time trying to achieve wealth, distracting them from doing what truly matters. Using your time to accomplish your dreams creates happier lives than money alone could ever provide.

Americans have the privilege of independence and freedom in how our time is spent. However, as Americans known for our bad habits, we mistakenly use this abundance of time to focus on the material life the United States has to offer. This tendency can even date back to the revolutionary age of consumerism and beginning of American modernity during the 1920s. The “roaring twenties” was characterized by a partying, lavish lifestyle, national economic prosperity, and a ground-breaking amount of consumerism increasing the standard of living. Conversely, this was also a time where American citizens lost faith, happiness, and meaning to their lives, feeling unfulfilled by their wealth and fortune.

The idea that utilizing time rather than money is not just a theory of the past, there are cold, hard facts to back up this concept. The Society for Personality and Psychology published a study providing statistics, proving that people who value time rather than money are overall happier. Using more than 4,600 subjects, the groups were evenly split between people who personally preferred having more money than more time, compared to those who rather have more time instead of money. After the test was taken, this organization reported “those who said they value time more than money scored higher on standard psychological happiness tests.” Whether these people appreciated extra time to do a hobby, spend it with loved ones, or even utilizing that time to accomplish a dream, when time is valued more than money, happiness becomes more abundant within individuals.

The reason why people tend to devote their lives to making a lot of money is because they incorrectly assume that once they achieve their aspired level of wealth, all of their problems will go away. However, this is not the case. It just so happens to be that the famous principle, Parkinson’s Law, reasons that “This is because money problems (difficulty paying bills, paying off debt, getting into debt, difficulty saving) are often behavioral problems. And behavioral problems can NOT be solved with money” says Bob, a recurring journalist from Seed Time who also writes for USA Today and other credible news sources. Bob explains Parkinson’s Law as a principle which “essentially says that expenses rise to meet income, so if you are having a hard time paying your bills or making a dent in your mountain of debt, money is NOT your answer.” People think that the difficulties they experience in their daily lives will change as they receive a higher income, but in reality most everyday struggles are a result of your behavior rather than the amount of money you make. As an example, this article uses the scenario of someone desiring more wealth due to their constant credit card debt, however if this individual has the habit of getting into debt, they most likely will continue this habit but this time with more money.

Of course, there is some “short term” happiness that money can offer. Buying a car or house you have always wanted might put a smile on your face for a while, but the truth is that this satisfaction is only temporary. Modern day Americans, being part of the “Me, Me, Me Generation” tend to try to find short term happiness to their problems, rather than finding satisfaction that lasts a lifetime.

A recent Gallup Poll, experimenting the relationship between happiness and time, concluded “Among those who report spending six to seven hours of social time with family and friends on any given day, those experiencing a lot of enjoyment and happiness (54%) outnumber those experiencing extreme stress and worry (5%) by a ratio of 12-to-1.” These feelings of bliss and positivity replaces the pressure and anxiety that may come along with the stress of worrying about financial problems at all times.  Using passion or loved ones to drive the way to spend your time not only seems like it would lead to happier lifestyles, but even studies have shown the accuracy of this idea.

Even though all the data points to spending time working on a passion or achieving a dream creates much more happiness than wealth, of course, just like all beliefs, there are exceptions. Occasionally, yes, one might need a lot money to spend their time wisely because most things in life don’t come free. For example, after traveling to China with my grandparents as a child, I’ve wanted nothing more than to go back and visit again. But knowing that the plane ticket alone is $850, money would definitely solve this problem. However, with the right priority and drive to do something you love, like traveling to the other side of the world, there will always be ways around financial limitations, just as many have done before.

Doing something that you genuinely love and are passionate about is substantially more valuable than what wealth or riches has to offer. Not only is this backed up with data, but experiences and principles as well. Although living out your dream may lead to sacrificing yourself financially, the feeling of joy and bliss that is rewarded is priceless. Every person is given the same amount of time in a day, no matter the race, class or social status, but it is what we do with that time that truly matters.