We recently commissioned a study looking at the control that people feel over various aspects of their life, and how this impacts on their overall happiness: the Sunny Life Control Index. In the first of a series of articles informed by our research, we’re tackling some of the topics that participants noted as important to their overall feeling of happiness. Today, we’re taking on work, and more specifically, what we get out of it – money. Is money the key to happiness?
So, Does Money Make Us Happy?
The simple answer is this depends. While there is a direct correlation between money and happiness, it seems this happiness depends on how you measure value, not just the value of your pay-check.
We spend a lot of time working and earning money – a typical 40-hour week can add up to about 1,880 hours per year and roughly 90,000 hours or more than 10 years over your lifetime. So, spending that much time working you want to know if you’re getting value out of it right?
Knowing if money can make you happy depends on how you measure the value, you’re getting out of it. Many of us measure this in our finances, how much we are getting paid. But there are other factors such as the job itself, prospects for promotion, the sector you work in and what you do outside of work. Sure, money is important, but are you happy if you don’t like the job you are doing? Money can make you happy, but it certainly isn’t the only factor, it’s what you make it.
Will Earning More Money Make Me Happier?
There is a direct correlation between how much you earn and how happy you are in life overall.
After all, earning more means you can take care of your everyday living costs comfortably, have a bit left over to enjoy the finer things in life and be able to handle most of life’s inevitable curveballs without too much fuss or strain. What more could you want?
Well, quite a bit, as it happens. Our study shows that the point at which your income makes you happier appears to peak when you make around £50 – £70k a year*. Beyond that, while the extra money is still a very nice thing to have, the effect it has on your happiness overall is less significant, meaning money isn’t the only key to happiness.
Will Spending Money Make Me Happier?
While the majority of us don’t have that kind of salary, making the most out of what we have is important to make you happy. From those we surveyed in our Sunny Life Control index, around 65% of people in the £20-£30k income bracket describes themselves as happy with their lives overall, so it’s fair to say that there must be way more to life than money and work. We think that life isn’t so much about what you have, but what you do with it.
A 2014 study by Thomas Gilovich showed that spending your money on experiences rather than buying possessions is the best way money can bring happiness. Another study by Elizabeth Dunn talks about what she calls ‘Prosocial Spending’ and how spending money on other people can bring more happiness than treating yourself. But of course, that isn’t to say never treat yourself.
While buying material items brings us the least amount of happiness, it’s important to spend your money on experiences, spending time with loved ones and making memories. Those memories offer a greater reward long-term than outlive the days after you purchase it.
What Else Can Make Me Happy Besides Money?
Of course, money isn’t everything, and life has so much more to offer when money has done all it can. To make your life fuller, start to think about your job. Forget the salary, do you like what you do every day? Making sure you love what you do at work is a great start to creating more value in your life. We’ll cover some other great ways to make your life happier below.
1. Your family
Having children or otherwise doesn’t seem to affect people’s overall satisfaction with life, in our survey we found that with 60% of those who have children, and the same proportion of those who don’t, saying they’re happy with their lives overall.
But, there’s no doubt that feeling like you’re in control of your family life, and you have a stable network around you, is key to happiness in the broader sense. Only 22% of people we surveyed were happy despite feeling a very low sense of control over their family lives, vs. 81% who felt they were totally in control.
Actively spending time with family is one of the biggest contributors to people’s happiness overall, but that doesn’t necessarily mean spending a fortune on family days out. Simply doing things together is enough for many people, whether that’s a family walk, socialising together, or banding together to tackle a household project like making a special meal or defeating a garden wilderness. The more quality time you spend with your family, the happier you’re likely to be**.
2. Regular mate dates with your friends
Spending time with your friends in the evenings and weekends, according to our research, is a sure fire way to cheer yourself up if work is getting you down – and no surprise, since our friends are kind of the family we choose for ourselves.
68% of people who get out for a meal or drinks with their friends at least once a month say they’re happy with their lives overall. However, it doesn’t seem to be what you do with your friends so much as just spending time with them that makes a difference, which is great news for those of us with budgets to bear in mind.
A weekly “mate date” of some sort, whether it’s enjoying a meal together or getting your families together for a day of fun, seems to be the key to happiness in your friendships, which in turn have a huge effect on how happy you are overall. So give that old school pal a buzz and get together for a chinwag – it’ll perk you right up!
3. Indulge in a little “me” time
As cliché as it sounds, setting aside some “me” time in your day is a great way to de-stress and can be key to happiness overall.
Whether this be in the form of treating yourself, spending time with hobbies or pastimes, or even exercising or selfcare. It’s a scientific fact that exercise releases endorphins (happy hormones), whether it’s the gym, class or just going for a walk outside. Getting regular exercise means you’re more likely to feel laid back about life as you de-stress.
A fitness regime can be a lot to commit to, though, so simply making time to spend on the things you enjoy. This could be keeping up a hobby, getting stuck into a good book, or diverting your attention into a craft or cooking project are also great ways to inject a bit of positivity into your day.
4. Your partner
It probably seems obvious, since they’re the person you’ve chosen to date, or even spend the rest of your life with, but your partner is a big contributor to how happy people are in life overall. Of course, it’s not healthy to pin all your hopes of happiness on one person, but, at risk of sounding a bit mushy, you’ve picked them to be part of your life for a reason, so make sure you recognise the value they add!
Much the same as with your friends and family, the happiness you get from your partner is all about the quality time you spend with them. Whether it’s going on dates, hanging out with mutual friends, or just enjoying one another’s company at home, if being with them doesn’t give you a mood boost, then we don’t know what will!
The study found that the longer people are in a relationship, the happier they tend to become, with 78% of couples from the older generation saying they’re happy with life overall. People in relatively new relationships also enjoy higher than average overall happiness (72%), which is no doubt down to the honeymoon effect and excitement that comes with getting to know someone new. And isn’t it nice to know it’ll only get better with time?
Is Money The Key To Happiness?
As we discovered, money does have a part to play, but it’s not the only key to happiness. Like so many things, finding happiness in life is all about balance. There’s no reason for one aspect of your life to rule them all, and evidently, there’s more to life than what you can achieve materially. Money is, of course, an essential part of the journey, but it’s not everything. It’s easy to forget that, and important to remember.
*79% of those surveyed as part of the Sunny Life Control index who earn £50-£70k per year agreed that overall, they were happy with their lives at present. This is in contrast to the 61% who agreed they were happy but earned less than £50k a year.
** 69% of those surveyed as part of the Sunny Life Control index who said they did family activities at least once a week said they were happy with their lives overall, vs. 47% who claim never to spend any time on family activities.
