How Much Money Does It Take To Be Happy (According To Science)

How much money does it take to be happy? A thorny question that has been answered for decades. No problem, though: We’ll take care of it Sciences To tell us how much money we need in order to be “satiated” and live a peaceful life, away from financial difficulties, in the coveted land of happiness.

The myth of wealth, winning the lottery, beautiful cars and “carefree” people unites millions of Italians, not convinced that the saying “money does not buy happiness” is reliable. If money is necessary to live according to the minimum standards that society imposes on us – owning a house, renting or owning it, being able to shop, pay bills and afford all other daily expenses – then having plenty of it allows you to get rid of various whims – from An expensive car to a beautiful home, from designer clothes and accessories to a luxurious vacation – and above all, you have no financial problems.

Unexpected gains or inheritances aside, the answer to the question of how much money is needed to be happy is pressing for many people: how much is needed to support a family, provide for the necessities of life, buy enough, and enjoy leisure time? In short words How much do you have to earn to be satisfied?

How much money does it take to be happy?

For decades, the notion that money is not capable of generating happiness has been spread. There have been many studies that have attempted to prove that earning more than one needs to satisfy basic needs and comfort is useless, even harmful, in the pursuit of happiness. Try, that is, not to cast despair on those who don’t come close to the most common numbers associated with happiness.

Recently, however, things seem to have changed. Scientific studies abound that confirm a historical fact for many: the more money we have, the better off we are. But is it really so?

An analysis by some English researchers on data collected by the Office for National Statistics and the Happy Planet Index goes back to 2020 with the aim of discovering How much money does the average citizen need to live a happy life?. the answer? 33864 pounds, which is equivalent to 38,882 eurosin the year.
Study published in 2021 by Matthew Killingsworth of the University of Pennsylvania suggests instead, simply, more The money we have, we are the happiest.

Andrew T. Gibb and his colleagues at Purdue University, along with others at the University of Virginia, addressed the question “how much money does it take to be happy” in the titled studyHappiness, income satiety, and turning points around the worldTrying to understand whether happiness increases indefinitely with increasing income or if there is a point at which the increase in the money available to an individual stops them from achieving greater well-being, through an international survey with an audience of 1.7 million people spread across 164 countries.

From the study, dated 2018, it is clear how Those who live in rich countries need more money To define themselves as happy — we’re in the field of “subjective well-being,” a term that belongs to the social sciences. In many parts of the world, having more money—beyond the level of “satiety,” a metric that measures perceived sufficiency—”It is associated with low life ratings». The authors point out that “A recent nationwide study found a slight but significant drop in life ratings“Among the very high incomes”in rich countries».

The study determines that The perfect amount of moneyaverage and have a satisfying life, $95,000, just over 87,000 euros. On the other hand, for emotional well-being, between 60,000 and 75,000 dollars are sufficient, i.e. Between 55,000 and 69,000 euros. per year of course.

Internationally, men need less money to be happy (82,600 euros) than women (91,800); Individuals with a higher education level believe that they need more money to be satisfied (€105,500) than less educated individuals (€78,000).

But be warned: Although the results of this research align with those of many others on the topic of happiness and money, there are methodological problem. These studies rely heavily on Self-reported dataa factor that makes them subject to various criticisms.

As confirmed by many studies before this one, the analysis in question also shows that after the “satiety point” happiness declines. It would be nice if this was the most common “problem”.

with sThe average annual salary in Italy is 29,500 euros, more than 80% of Italians do not, in fact, qualify in the marathon towards happiness. Fortunately, scientific studies are not always correct. Or, at least, we hope.