Money may not buy happiness, but earning enough certainly goes a long way to help.
The Harris Poll and Empower, a financial services firm, surveyed 2,034 Americans aged 18 and older in August to find out what they believed to be the true secret to financial happiness. It turns out that the typical individual feels that having $1.2 million in the bank would be necessary to be genuinely happy financially, and 59% of respondents believe that happiness can indeed be purchased.
The typical respondent believes they need $284,167 year in earnings in order to be content. The yearly income and net worth necessary to get happiness, varies as follows: Gen Z is ready to settle for $128,000 annually, with a net worth of $487,711. Millennials, on the contrary, wish for an annual salary of $525,000, with a net worth of $1,699,571. As far as Gen X is concerned, $130,000 is enough yearly, provided one has a much greater net worth of $1,213,759. Last but not least, Boomers would like to earn $124,000 annually, with a net worth of $999,945.
Women thought $183,000 would be enough to make them happy, whereas men claimed they needed to make $381,000.
The forecasts of the millennial poll respondents were confirmed by a 2023 research coauthored by a Nobel Prize winner, Daniel Kahneman, which found that happiness may increase with increasing wages of up to $500,000 year.
“In the simplest terms, this suggests that for most people larger incomes are associated with greater happiness,” Matthew Killingsworth, a senior fellow at Penn’s Wharton School and co-author of the research, stated. “The exception is people who are financially well-off but unhappy. For instance, if you’re rich and miserable, more money won’t help. For everyone else, more money was associated with higher happiness to somewhat varying degrees.”
The poll indicates that Americans’ financial security is being negatively impacted by inflation, high interest rates, and student debt, and that feeling comfortable enough to spend money on necessities might increase one’s sense of financial contentment. Sixty-two percent of millennials, for instance, stated that they would be happy to pay $7 for a daily cup of coffee “because of the joy it brings.”
