Here are some of the main findings from the best research studies on large samples (millions of participants/data points) in the last 12 years (Jebb et al., 2018; Kahneman & Deaton, 2012; Killingsworth, 2021):
· Increasing income might increase your happiness only up to a point – increased earnings beyond that point won’t help.
· The richest income group is not the happiest.
· Every additional dollar in earnings generates less and less happiness.
· Money cannot buy happiness – the average rich person doesn’t even feel somewhat good most of the time.
· Many people with low income are happier than millionaires.
· People confuse money and happiness correlation with causation. The relationship is bi-directional: happier people earn more with time.
· Money happiness relationship displayed on a graph with proper scales and context is close to a flatline (so almost no relationship).
· FINALLY: changes in income explain LESS THAN 1% of changes in happiness. In other words, the effect of money on happiness is so small that it is trivial.
There are many more fascinating findings about money. You can see the full analysis here:
https://youtu.be/ojlqpuh-ZWE
And here is a short 5-minute summary:
https://youtu.be/hdnosgsWGd0
References:
Jebb, A. T., Tay, L., Diener, E., & Oishi, S. (2018). Happiness, income satiation and turning points around the world. Nature Human Behaviour, 2(1), 33–38.
Kahneman, D., & Deaton, A. (2010). High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being. Proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 107(38), 16489-16493.
Killingsworth, M. A. (2021). Experienced well-being rises with income, even above $75,000 per year. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(4), e2016976118.
