Pop culture might want us to believe that the best things in life are free, but two Princeton economists beg to differ.
Inc.com has more on what Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman and his colleague Angus Deaton discovered in a new study:
Not having enough money causes emotional pain and unhappiness, the researchers found. But the happiness tipping point is about $75,000 - more money than that doesn't make a person cheerier, though it can help people view their lives as successful or better.
Kahneman and Deaton distinguished between life satisfaction and joy by asking people to assess how happy they were on the previous day, and found that there was no difference between daily happiness levels of individuals making more than $75,000 per year.
The study echoes University of Illinois Professor Ed Diener's global research on the same topic, the results of which were reported in July. According to the Washington Post, Diener found that while the relationship between money and satisfaction is strong and universal, the relationship between wealth and positive emotion is more complex.
The Post explains:
"...a key element of what many people consider happiness -- positive feelings -- is much more strongly affected by factors other than cold, hard cash, such as feeling respected, being in control of your life and having friends and family to rely on in a pinch."
Is $75,000 enough to make you happy? Weigh in below.