20 Reasons Friends Are Worth More Than Money — $133,000 To Be Exact

How much is a friendship worth? How much would you pay for a good one? Where do you see your investment going in terms of your relationships?

We all know the common saying, “money can’t buy happiness,” but what many don’t know is that friendship can. That’s right, your happiness is dependent on your social standing more than your economic one.

Poverty is a state, but feeling poor is a state of mind. You are only as poor as you feel (when the hunger pains subside) and just because you have money doesn't mean you will always feel rich. Because it’s not the lack of money that makes us feel poor, but the lack of social interactions.

Contrary to popular belief, our friendships are worth something. According to a report conducted by the British Household Pane and published in the Journal of Socio-Economics, they’re worth close to $133,000.

In Nattavudh Powdthavee's research paper, "Putting a Price Tag on Friends, Relatives, and Neighbours," he discusses the monetary values we can put on social interactions.

Through statistical analysis, economists developed a way to assess the worth of social interactions by taking random samples of people’s satisfaction levels over different points in their lives.

This gave them shadow prices they then placed on the worth of relationships. According to Powdthavee, “an increase in the level of social involvements is worth up to an extra £85,000 a year in terms of life satisfaction. Actual changes in income, on the other hand, buy very little happiness.”

Thus, the value of friendship makes us happier than a $133,000 pay raise.

Because money gets old. Or rather, we forget what it was like before having that money. But we never forget what it’s like to have friends. We feel the cold emptiness of lost friendships much more than lost paychecks. Not having someone to call hurts more than not having a few extra thousand in the bank.

So if you're worried that you're not making enough money to make you happy, don't look at your salary but your friendships, because choosing to spend more time with friends is going to bring you more joy than working all those extra hours for that pay raise.

Because it’s our friends that make us feel rich, not all the money we're making without them.

Spending time doing nothing feels so much better than spending money on nothing

Wasting time with friends is always going to trump wasting money.

Saving a friend is a lot more fun than saving money

Being there for someone is more rewarding than any bonus check.

Having a small house full of friends is more fun than a large house full of money

Where’s the fun in having the perfect house for entertaining if you have no one to entertain?

Those $100 bills really aren’t that funny

While money can bring a lot of things, it can’t bring a sense of humor.

Money won’t make you feel better about your day

You can buy all the therapy you need, but time for friends reduces mommy issues.

Drinking wine with a stack of money just isn’t the same

What's the point of expensive bottles if you have no one to pop them with?

You can’t call up your stock broker at 3 am crying (Unless you’re Martha Stewart)

Just because people care about your money doesn’t mean they care about you.

There’s never any added tax on them

Your real friends will never steal from you.

Friends will never short change you

You never have to count your friends twice or worry about them cheating you.

You can buy all the companies in the world, but there’s no buying their company

What’s the point of having all the money in the world if you have no one to enjoy it with?

Expensive toys aren’t as fun to play with alone

There’s no point in water skis if you have no one to drive the boat.

Friends are better on the road trip than your expensive car

A nice car looks great on the road, but friends are the only thing that make it great.

A friend who can spare a minute is always better than spare change

When you’re having a nervous breakdown, it’s that extra attention that will save you, not some loose change.

Investing in friendships won’t take years to see a return

Friendships will never be a depreciating asset. There’s an immediate return on the investment and it comes without having to buy in.

Checks won’t check up on you

Your friends will never bounce on you.

Your face gets dirty if you cry into money

Crying into a pile of money is just kind of unsanitary.

Friends don't change hands at the same rate money does

Unlike money, your friends aren't going to leave you for a Diet Coke and a bag of chips.

A real friend is like winning the lottery

There's no risk when it comes to a good friend, you always win.

Money makes you broke, friends fix you

Friendship is the only thing that doesn't ever run out.

There aren't two faces to friendship

Friends don't have multiple faces and will never just be there.

Photo Courtesy: We Heart It