You have probably heard the very common phrase, "Money Can't Buy Happiness." However, according to a study by psychologists from Purdue University and the University of Virginia, it can, to an extent.
By cross-referencing the earnings and life satisfaction of 1.7 million people across the world, they believe they have found the ideal income for life satisfaction. This number is $95,000 a year. For just emotional well-being, this number is only $60-75,000. Of course, if you have children this number goes up.
Just because you make this amount of money doesn't necessarily mean you will be happy. There is a reason that there is a threshold. Basically, money can get us access to better homes, health care, and nutrition, which of course will better our well beings. However, once you reach a point where you have everything you need, these positive effects are offset by negative ones. To keep making money, people will work long hours at more stressful jobs.
There are ways to use the money you have to actually contribute to your happiness once you have covered your basic needs. One is to spend it on experiences instead of material goods. New items give us temporary happiness, and then just become a normal thing. Most of us have experienced this. For example, when you buy a new phone, it is super exciting at first and makes you very happy, and then after about a week, that feeling fades away. Experiences, however, will continue to make you happy for much longer Another is to spend your money on other people. Many studies show that donating money makes people much happier than just spending it on themselves.
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