How Much Money Does It Take to Be Happy
How much money does it take to be happy? Some people believe that the best in life is free; others are happy when they make multi-million dollar deals in the backseat of their city car with a driver.
There is essentially no right answer; naturally, how much money you need to be happy will depend on you, your circumstances and your environment. (And, of course, the question of what happiness is opens up a whole jar of existential fear.) You’re not likely to be happy if you can’t afford the essentials – food, clean water, shelter, medical care – but that’s about it. Are millionaires happier than all of us? Of course not. It’s not just about money.
So this question is impossible to answer, not that it prevents economists from understanding it. In the past, studies have recorded the ” ideal salary for happiness ” at $ 75,000 per year in the United States. You are perceptibly happier if you earn more up to that point, and then, after that, your daily plateau of happiness (the researchers noted that this does not mean that there is absolutely no difference: “more money increases people’s appreciation of life”).
A new study from Purdue University complicates and updates this view. A study published in the journal Nature Human Behavior argues that people have different optimal income levels for “evaluating life” (“an overall assessment of how someone is doing and is probably more dependent on higher goals and comparisons to others.” ) and “emotional well-being.” -being “(” everyday emotions such as feelings of happiness, excitement or sadness and anger “), which are different around the world.
The researchers found that the ideal income point for an individual worldwide is $ 95,000 for valuing life and $ 60,000 to $ 75,000 for emotional well-being. Thereafter, further income growth may actually be associated with a decrease in life satisfaction and well-being. The authors note that saturation points are estimates that only apply to single-person households, so they are likely to be much higher for families.
The study is based on data from the global Gallup World Poll, which was attended by over 1.7 million people from 164 countries. As you can imagine, it varies from region to region, with higher incomes being more important in wealthier regions such as Western Europe and North America.
The study authors write in Nature Human Behavior that estimates are likely to differ even within individual countries, especially if the cost of living varies widely across regions (such as the United States).
So what’s the bottom line? Well, it’s true that you need a certain level of income to be happy, but happiness depends on much more than just income – where you live plays an important role, and your emotional well-being is a different indicator than your overall life satisfaction.
Most importantly, spending money on tangible possessions or a prettier home simply won’t make you happier. Instead, Andrew Jebb, the study’s lead author, told Miku that if you want to be happier, you need to focus less on yourself. “People tend to feel better when they spend their money … serving other people,” he said.