Alexander Zingman : How Much Money Do You Really Need to Be Happy?

They say that money can not buy you happiness. Yet, research has shown that money can actually buy you happiness - to a certain extent. When it comes to what happiness really costs, the jury is out.Historically, a 2010 study by Princeton University researchers found that making $ 75,000 a year was a sweet spot for happiness. The study looked at the relationship between how many people took home each year and emotional well-being and life expectancy.

The results showed that emotional well-being equaled to $ 75,000 per year; Taking in a higher amount (such as $ 100,000) does not change a person's happiness says Alexander Zingman . The same study found that when incomes dropped below $ 75,000, people reported less happiness and more grief and stress.

Yet new research challenges the decade-old idea that $ 75,000 can buy you happiness. When looking at the complexity of money and well-being, data from 2021 suggest that happiness actually increases as an individual's income increases. Research shows that the more money we make, the happier we become (or rather, we have the capacity to buy things or the experience that makes us happy again).

 A survey of more than 33,000 working adults in the United States and more than 1.7 million sampling reports revealed a direct link between higher incomes, better day-to-day well-being and a happier life overall. But what really defines happiness?

The definition of true happiness varies from person to person. "While a person's happiness often depends on their safety and well-being - on pay - it also depends on their values," Billy Roberts, a certified psychiatrist based in Ohio, told Health.

Of course, people are driven by different values. For some, value lies in power; others find value in security or selfishness. "A person who is driven by power may have different financial needs than a person who is driven by security," Roberts explains. These factors can affect an individual's happiness or perception of happiness, changing the amount of money they truly need to be emotionally happy.