What is the Price of Happiness?

Academics and social scientists have studied happiness for generations, seeking just the right dollar amount where happiness is assured and we can expect to live happily ever after. But the solution eludes them, of course, because the answer does not lie in a simple formula.

Matthew Killingsworth, a Senior Fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, gathered 1.7 million data points from more than 33,000 participants who responded to randomized check-ins on an app Killingsworth created called "Track Your Happiness." Participants were asked questions such as, "How do you feel right now?" and asked to respond on a scale ranging from "very bad" to "very good" -- an approach that improves upon previous studies that have asked about how a participant felt yesterday or last week. Because Killingsworth asked for real-time responses, his data has shed new light on a 2010 Princeton study that concluded that people experience a well-being plateau once their annual household income reached $75,000.

Killingsworth discovered that the happiness threshold is actually closer to $60,000, and above that number, a person's well-being continued to rise with income. According to Killingsworth, higher earners generally have an increased sense of control over life: "When you have more money, you have more choices about how to live your life. You can likely see this in the pandemic. People living paycheck to paycheck who lost their job might need to take the first available job to stay afloat, even if it's one they dislike. People with a financial cushion can wait for one that's a better fit. Across decisions big and small, having more money gives a person more choices and a greater sense of autonomy."

Maybe, but what do we mean by "happiness"? According to Killingsworth, here is where the complexity lies. Although money can provide a sense of security, Killingsworth found that "people who equated money and success were less happy than those who didn't," and "people who earned more money worked longer hours and felt more pressed for time" and were rarely able to relax and enjoy life.

For Elizabeth Dunn, a Professor of Social Psychology at the University of British Columbia, the answer lies more with what we do with our money than how much money we have to begin with: "What we've discovered in our work is that there seems to be this intrinsic joy that's baked into human nature that stems from helping others. So the remarkable thing is that we see, even in children under the age of two, that using their resources to benefit others -- giving away, for example, some goldfish -- actually makes them happy. What we've discovered is that people who use money to help others are happier than those who do not."

In other words, once people surpass the poverty line, earning enough to pay their bills, happiness comes from giving money rather than getting money. As scientists express surprise over this rewriting of the 2010 Princeton study, are you able to hear the Gospel echoes? Jesus commands us -- above all else -- to love the Lord our God and love one another, giving generously of our time, talents, and treasures:

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. -- Luke 6:38

Jesus also promises us all joy, deep peace, and hope in eternity ... an exponential answer to the "happiness" so many of us seek. As you ponder the markers of joy and generosity in your own life, what will you give to another this week?

Peace on your week,

Jennie