Why Having More Money Actually Makes You Miserable (And Lowers Your Quality Of Life)
You don't need to be a millionaire to be satisfied.
getty More money, more problems right? Notorious B.I.G. might have been on to something here. Because can money buy happiness?
Many studies have been done documenting the correlation between money and happiness over the years. Despite this, an overarching majority of people you run into and randomly ask will tell you they believe that more income each year would make them happier.
But when it comes to how to be happy, and not just pretending you are, what the general consensus says about the correlation is exaggerated.
First, let’s discuss why people are so quick to believe this fallacy. The media is the main reason.
Because money in this country is typically associated with fame, many people instantly become smitten with the lifestyle as a whole. This explains why so many people are breaking their necks to be professional athletes, actors, directors, and so on.
We see these people and we assume they’re happier because they bought that custom-made Gucci suit, or can afford a celebrity trainer to get them in the best shape and things of that nature. However, even some celebrities will tell you that having a lavish lifestyle isn't all it's cracked up to be. Look at Robin Williams and Owen Wilson, for example.
This is why so many people believe that money guarantees happiness. But according to a study from Purdue University and the University of Virginia, money brings more happiness... as long as it’s not more than around $95,000.
Psychology researchers found this information by gathering self-reported income and life-satisfaction data from 1.7 million people across 164 countries. In addition to these results, they found that making any more than $95,000 was typically correlated with lower life satisfaction, due to becoming materialistic and trying to portray a certain image about your life.
But understanding how to be happy means understanding the difference between true happiness, and emotional well-being. Most people don’t think of this, but happiness is only a part of emotional well-being; therefore, the latter is more important.
If you have all your needs being met with a $50k income, more money will hurt you more than help you. This is because some people don’t know how to manage their money when they get more of it than they’re used to.
Draw from this conclusion what you will, but making this amount of money keeps you humble enough to be happy with what you have, all without breaking your bank to try and keep up with the Joneses.