Prioritizing Happiness: The High Price Americans Are Willing to Pay

According to a study by financial planner Empower, 59% of Americans believe that money can buy happiness and that it costs around $1.2 million. Two-thirds of respondents equated financial happiness with on-time bill payments and being debt-free, while just 17% said it could be defined by a certain net worth.

The Empower “Financial Happiness” study surveyed 2,034 Americans aged 18 and above between Aug. 7 and 14, with an overall margin of error of 2.9 percentage points. Pollsters found that the first word that comes to people’s mind when asked about financial happiness is “freedom,” followed by “security” and “relief.”

The average salary Americans said would make them happy was $284,167 per year. The men’s price point was much higher at $381,000, while the average for women was $183,000. There was also a significant generational divide, with Millennials listing the highest salary at $525,000, Generation Z at $128,000, Generation X at $130,000, and Boomers at $124,000.

More than seven in ten respondents said having more money would solve most of their problems. Nearly a third (32%) said gaining $15,000 would have a meaningful impact on their lives, while 42% said a $25,