Money and Happiness
                     Money and 
Happiness
Introduction
These are the kinds of 
questions that as individuals 
and organisations we have to 
answer. As ever, at The 
Happiness Index, we believe 
in going back to science. 
There have been lots of 
studies which look at the 
impact of money on 
happiness, so it’s easy to find 
some answers to the 
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thehappinessindex.com
Impact on 
quality of life
Of course, your salary has a 
big impact on your quality of 
life. It’s going to impact 
everything from the kinds of 
food you eat, to where you 
live and the car you drive. 
However, these 
improvements will only make 
you happier to a point.
Source: 
thehappinessindex.com
Contribution 
to Happiness
Wellbeing expert Gethin 
Nadin tells us that “Money 
contributes to happiness 
when it helps us make basic 
needs but the research tells 
us that above a certain level 
more money doesn’t actually 
yield more happiness.” 
Source: 
thehappinessindex.com
Money can 
Protect
Not only did earning more 
money make participants 
happier, but it also protected 
them from things which 
might make them unhappier. 
For example, participants 
going through a divorce who 
earned less became 
unhappier than those 
earning more.
Source: 
thehappinessindex.com
Will 
Inheriting a 
Fortune 
Make You 
Happier?
Those who inherited their 
fortune were less happy than 
those who had earned their 
millionaire status. So 
perhaps we should be 
grateful that our long lost 
Nigerian uncle’s money is 
unlikely to reach our bank 
accounts after all.
Source: 
thehappinessindex.com
Will Winning 
The Lottery 
Make You 
Happier?
In a 2018 literature review, 
Donnelly found that 
moderately sized winnings 
may increase happiness. 
Unfortunately, the impact 
isn’t very big, certainly not 
as big as we might think. 
Those winning the larger 
prizes showed no increase in 
happiness.
Source: 
thehappinessindex.com
Will 
Spending 
Money Make 
You Happier?
A 2014 study by Thomas 
Gilovich showed that 
spending money on 
experiences is the best way 
to spend money to bring 
happiness.
Source: 
thehappinessindex.com
Will Paying 
Your Team 
More Make 
Them 
Happier?
There’s no real proof that 
raising salaries automatically 
makes people happier. 
However, paying people well 
is obviously the right thing to 
do.
Source: 
thehappinessindex.com
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