How does money influence emotions?

How does money influence emotions?
Money always plays an important role in the life of everyone and consequently influences everyone’s emotions. From my own experience I would say that money can influence our emotions in three different ways: positive, negative, and neutral.

Usually we get positive emotions when we either receive money or spend money. People get their salaries, dividends from stocks, royalties and sometimes even inheritance, but always the very moment of acquiring money affects our emotions in a positive way. We feel happy. We are full of energy. We become more optimistic and self-confident.
On the other hand when people lose money they become depressed, weak and pessimistic. The interesting thing is that spending money produces positive emotions at the moment of purchase, but later if spending wasn’t satisfying emotions change vector and the spender becomes depressed.

It might sound quite strange but some people are emotionally neutral to the fact of losing or gaining money. Who are these people? They are people who either work with other people’s money or have special training. People who are working with other people’s money are ordinary people, accountants, brokers, cashiers, etc… However, people that specially trained their brains aren’t ordinary. Usually they are self-made rich people. Why would a rich person push himself to be emotionless when dealing with money? Well, first of all one of the requirements for anyone who wants to build wealth is to be able to be calm both at the time of gain and loss. For example, if a person spends way too much at the department store because shopping produces positive emotions they won’t be able to save and invest enough. Another reason to be emotionally neutral when dealing with money is that rich people have financial plans of how to be rich or be richer and they have to follow these plans whatever their emotions are. Finally, if you can rule your emotions, you can rule your money!

-O.

I think this idea of money neutral also ties in with being able to delay rewards and see the big picture. Financially successful people can delay the good feeling received from spending money because they see the greater possibilities. One of the points you made was that the positive emotions are produced at the time of purchase. These feelings tend not to last long. Financially successful people can see past this short term quick gratification and work towards a greater reward down the road.