
Researchers from Penn and Princeton set out to answer the question: Does more money equal greater happiness? This seems like a simple question, despite contradictory findings in the past. They found that “for most people larger incomes are associated with greater happiness. 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.” Interestingly, they also found that “happiness rises relatively steeply with income and then plateaus.” While money is certainly not the only factor in determining one’s happiness, perhaps a sense of stability and security helps to enhance one’s happiness.