Money buys UNhappiness when you are obsessed with it

“There is a correlation between a person’s wealth and decreased ability to savor pleasant experiences”

374 adults in varying ranges of jobs, were split into two groups.

The first group was shown a stack of money and the second group, a blurred money of money.

Then they were tested psychologically to measure “savouring ability”, “happiness” and “desire for wealth”.

The first group, who had seen the money beforehand, scored significantly lower in their ability to savour pleasant experiences.

Just the thought of money had diminished their ability to appreciate and savor pleasant experiences.

A simple reminder of wealth can significantly diminish the pleasant experience.

Via Psychology Today

Beyond a certain salary, money doesn’t buy happiness

I think I read somewhere that if you earn $60,000, that is the maximum threshold for being happy with money.

That’s well above the average salary of an American — which I do believe lies around the $30,000 range, and for Canadians, around $33,000.

It also means that you are able (hypothetically) to cover your basic needs, and then some.

(Granted, if you live in New York City or Los Angeles, that may not be the case because $60,000 will barely cover your cost of living unless you live with 5 roommates + a rat, but this is a generalization.)

Any salary beyond that range, did not result in MORE happiness through money, in fact, they were maxed out of happiness at around the $100,000 range, and any amount earned beyond that, was negligible in terms of being happy.

Why? My reasoning is as follows:

• to earn that kind of money, you have to work long hours, and deal with a lot more stress
• that kind of money, brings a lot of social pressures to upgrade your lifestyle to fit in
• you can buy (almost) whatever you want, so your previous ‘little luxuries’ become boring & normal

Evidence?

My family is a great example of this, myself included (example to follow).

My brother seemed happier making $50,000 a year, struggling with his wife in school, than he is now, earning 6-8 times that,with 2 kids, a big house, 2 cars and a full-time manny.

(He lives in a moderate-to-high cost city, by the way, but nothing on the scale of NYC)

All the previous little pleasures of taking small trips overseas and backpacking it to save money, have been replaced by first-class tickets, staying in 5-star hotels and being bored, cynical tourists.

They used to treat themselves to ONE cup of takeout coffee a day, and now it’s 3 times a day, a small pleasure that has been turned into a daily routine.

She used to go get manicures and pedicures with a spa massage, every 3 months as a treat, and now it’s every week.

And like addicts they want the next level of intensity, and they need a new high.

Now they’re talking about buying a second home (a little “cottage”) up north so they can vacation there in the summer.

Page 1 of 3 | Next page

No related posts.