Having more money definitely makes you happier – study

A new study, conducted by researcher Matthew Killingsworth from the University of Pennsylvania, flies in the face of previous research that found people do not experience any significant changes to their levels of happiness after they start earning more than $75,000 (R1.1 million) a year.

“Taken together, the current results show that larger incomes were robustly associated with greater well-being. Contrary to past research, there was no evidence for a plateau around $75,000, with experienced well-being instead continuing to climb across the income range.

“There was also no income threshold at which experienced and evaluative well-being diverged; instead, higher incomes were associated with both feeling better moment-to-moment and being more satisfied with life overall.

“While there may be some point beyond which money loses its power to improve well-being, the current results suggest that point may lie higher than previously thought,” Killingsworth said.