Money Online 2014: Does Wealth Lead to Happiness? Somewhat, Poll Says
The old saying that "Money can't buy happiness" is only somewhat true.
According to CNN Money, the majority of people still require a good chunk of monetary income to keep a smile on their faces. Primarily in terms of affording food and keeping a roof overhead.
Based on a CNN Money American Dream poll conducted by ORC International, where 1,003 American adults were interviewed, more than half of them said they didn't need a six-figure salary to be happy.
Almost a quarter of those polled said they would be perfectly content with an annual salary of $50,000 and about $75,000, which supported a Princeton study that found happiness was tied to income but only until the $75,000 mark.
According to CNN, this means that happiness is dependent upon other factors past a certain income level.
The poll also found that 10 percent of those interviewed don't need a substantial amount of money to be happy while 6 percent said they didn't need money to be happy whatsoever. The 10 percent agreed somewhere between $1 and $30,000 would suffice in order to remain a happy person.
On the other hand, 23 percent of the pollsters said they would need to earn $100,000 and $199,999 annually to stay happy.
When the same people were asked what amount of money would make the person feel rich, 60 percent of them said an annual salary of $250,000 would do it.
CNN reported that between $100,000 and $199,999 was the most typical answer. Only 11 percent of those polled said they considered a salary of at least $1 million and upward as being rich.
The people polled who currently earn more than $50,000 a year tended to give higher answers.
However, how much ones earns doesn't make the person rich, it's how they spend their money, according to CNN. Saving and investing money are ways in which a person can be rich and maintain their wealth for the future.
Mari Adam of Boca Raton, Florida, a certified financial planner, cited his experience with a couple whose joint income is less than $75,000. He said that, "they're very happy with what they have. And the irony is they have more saved than some people who make two or three times more than they do."
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