Someone once asked Rockefeller, the former richest man of the world: “How much money is enough?”. His answer was not really surprising: “Just a little bit more”. Money provides security, a comfortable life and, yes, more happiness. Is that really the case? The results of an older study suggest that this is only true up to a certain amount. After that, people don’t get happier as they already are. New findings contradict this again. What’s right?
75.000 Dollar per year as the threshold of happiness
A growing household income provides for more emotional well-begin and general satisfaction, so far, so true. The Nobel Prize winners in economics, Angus Deaton and Daniel Kahneman wanted to know in 2010: Is there a “enough”? They identified a threshold of 75.000 Dollar as annual income, up to this limit money really seems to make happier. If you earn more than that, your soul life remains untouched. The researchers talk about “diminishing marginal utility” as the cause: Above the named threshold people are likely unable to do what matters most for emotional well-being, e.g. spending time with their families. Money is not only comfortable to have, but also hard to earn. And earning money takes precious time.
What if I give myself a precious gift?
Is it possible to create happiness with a credit? If you take care that the borrowed money can easily be repaid, nothing speaks against having a try. Many people already experienced high feelings when they bought themselves an expensive gift like a large screen TV or a new kitchen or even a sports car. This feeling lasts for quite a while, it comes up every time you see or use the object of your desires that is now in your hands. The website matchbanker.de offers you an overview of different forms of financing. With this useful digital tool, you can plan your individual credit financing, learn about important tips and tricks and gather a lot of relevant information. And, last but not least, you find numerous reputable lenders and their characteristics, clearly listed and ready to browse. Chose the one that is best for you, but be aware of your existing liabilities and don’t overextend yourself.
New studies, new insights into happiness
Now there is a new study from the USA published in the scientific journal “PNAS”. The Psychologist Matthew Killingsworth and his team, working at the University of Pennsylvania, asked over 33.000 working adults at random times via app: “How are you today?”. 1.7 million individual data came out, giving information about the daily well-being and the general life satisfaction of the subjects. The result contradicts the old insights of 2010: The happiness increased with a growing household income, and it did not stop at the mark of 75.000 Dollar. Quite the opposite: Far beyond the sum of 80.000 Dollar rich people felt even happier. The researchers suspect that this happiness results from the feeling to have more control over life. An upper limit is not in sight. Killingworth thinks that the reason for the deviating results lies in the differentiated methodology: The probands in his study were questioned in real time instead of retrospectively. And the emotions were asked on a broad scale, not with a yes-or-now scheme.
A better method – and another country
The well-known happiness researcher Jan Delhey from the University of Magdeburg, who is also an experienced sociologist, remarks: “The overall better method might actually have led to the new result.” Killingworth himself writes: “While there may be a point beyond which money loses its power to improve well-being, the current results suggest that this point may be higher than previously thought.” However, Delhey does see a social difference between Germany and the USA. He says that the society in the USA is more materialistic and competitive and people are often judged by their economic status. In Germany from his point of view the financial circumstances play less of a role concerning the status of an individual person.
The Deutsche Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung in Berlin (DIW) carried out its own study in 2020. The researchers found out that millionaires in Germany have the greatest overall life satisfaction – but less fun than poorer people. Their leisure time does not seem to be more fulfilling than yours and mine. So it doesn’t matter whether you’re in a dinghy or on a yacht: Real fun awaits everyone who is open for it.
