I understand what you're saying; that's the intuitive interpretation that most people have. But the research doesn't back that up. There are a number of studie

I understand what you're saying; that's the intuitive interpretation that most people have. But the research doesn't back that up. There are a number of studies on the matter: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=money+and+happiness+study http://lmgtfy.com/?q=money+and+happiness+study . Money makes you happier, but only to a point and with quickly diminishing returns. Once you're basic needs are met, you need to work on other areas of your life, like social relationships, to find happiness, not just making more money. Also look up "Hedonic Treadmill"; human psychology is such that we get used to what makes us happy faster than we expect. You think 150k will make you happy? Once you make that it does make you happy! But then a few months later, it's like "eh whatever".