Money can buy happiness. There, we said it.
But before you sprint toward a yacht, a five-star hotel, or a deeply unnecessary espresso machine, there’s some fine print.
For years, the popular story was that money buys happiness only up to about $75,000. After that, more income supposedly stopped moving the happiness needle. But updated research on money, happiness, income, and well-being suggests the relationship is more nuanced.
In this episode of Management Muse, Cindi Baldi and Geoffrey Tumlin unpack the newer findings and explore why the real question is not just, “Does money buy happiness?” but “How do you spend money in ways that actually improve your life?”
It’s a smart, funny, science-backed guide to getting more happiness per dollar, with practical takeaways for anyone trying to spend better, stress less, and understand what money means for employee well-being.
Episode Highlights
- Why the old money-happiness story was too simple
- What newer research reveals about income and well-being
- Four ways money can actually improve happiness
- How expectations shape satisfaction
- What managers should understand about money, stress, and employee well-being
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Want to Go Deeper? Check Out Our Recommended Reading:
- Kahneman, Daniel, and Angus Deaton. “High Income Improves Evaluation of Life but Not Emotional Well-Being.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2010. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1011492107
- Killingsworth, Matthew A., Daniel Kahneman, and Barbara Mellers. “Income and Emotional Well-Being: A Conflict Resolved.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2023. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2208661120
- Dunn, Elizabeth, and Michael Norton. Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending. Simon & Schuster, 2013. https://a.co/d/0aK2M6pG
- Osnos, Evan. “The Haves and Have-Yachts.” The New Yorker, Jul. 2022. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/25/the-haves-and-the-have-yachts
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