A recent study by financial planner Empower sheds light on how Americans view the relationship between money and happiness. The survey found that 59% of respondents believe that money can buy happiness, with an estimated cost of around $1.2 million to achieve it. Two-thirds of participants equated financial happiness with paying their bills on time and being debt-free, while just 17% said net worth defined their financial happiness.
Empower’s “Financial Happiness” study surveyed a sample of 2,034 Americans aged 18 and above between Aug. 7th and Aug. 14th, with an overall margin of error of 2.9 percentage points. Pollsters found that the first word respondents associated with financial happiness was “freedom,” followed by “security” and “relief.”
The average salary required for financial happiness in America was $284,167 per year, with men requiring significantly more at $381,000 compared to the average female salary of $183,000. There was also a significant generational divide in the amount needed for financial happiness; Millennials needed an average salary of $525,000 compared to Generation Z’s requirement of $128,000, Generation X’s need for $130,000 and Boomers’ requirement for $124,000.
A majority (more than seven out of ten) stated that having more money would solve most problems in their lives. Nearly one-third (32%) felt that gaining an additional $15,