Monisha Sharma:  Hi, this is Monisha 

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Shirley Ngo:  and this is Shirley. Welcome to Make It Shine the money podcast.

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Monisha Sharma:  We're here to talk about everyday things you wish you knew about money. On today's podcast, more money, more problems,

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Shirley Ngo:  do you think you'll be happier with $75,000?

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Monisha Sharma:  Or $400,000?

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Shirley Ngo:  We've got the answer

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Monisha Sharma:  right now.

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Shirley Ngo:  Listen for three key takeaways and a free money management guide you can download at the end of this podcast.

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Monisha Sharma:  So let's talk about the age old question. Can money buy you happiness? What do you think?

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Shirley Ngo:  Oh, I don't think happiness is the right word. I think money can buy you freedom and independence and that equates to happiness in some way or another.

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Monisha Sharma:  I mean, it's interesting you say that, because there's been two studies. So one study that was done, I think in 2010, this is actually by two Nobel Laureates. And the study said that money actually does buy you happiness. But maybe the way to think about it is it takes away unhappiness. So if you make no money, if you make $0, you are like, I think three or four times likelier to be depressed. You know, you pay a huge poverty tax, like it's, you tend to have shorter lifespan. But they say once you make up to $75,000, so they say, from zero to 75, you're getting happier, happier, happier. But once you make up to 75, there's a law of diminishing returns. And every extra dollar you earn, you're actually not making yourself extra dollar worth of happier.

 

Shirley Ngo:  So that's funny, you're referencing the 75k. There's another study done in the US, where they spoke to over 34,000 Americans, collected almost 2 million data points. And they asked them two questions: One was to evaluate their happiness on a day to day basis. And then the other one was just their perception of happiness overall. Okay, so people who made over $75k, their level of happiness for both day to day and the perception increased all the way up to making an income of $400,000. 

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Monisha Sharma:  Oh, wow. 

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Shirley Ngo:  Okay, so that's a huge gap.

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Monisha Sharma:  Yeah, that's a lot more than $75,000.

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Shirley Ngo:  So there is something to the point of money does buy you happiness. And when they were comparing the two data points that they were collecting people who perceived happiness, making $400,000, that gap was way bigger than when they looked at, you know, their day to day.  And I think it's because people who make that amount of money, they can dream a little bit more, they have more inspiration. Yeah, they can plan ahead, you know, do things that they're only dreaming about today,

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Monisha Sharma:  Right! Yeah, I think I think the nail on the head really is like money can buy you happiness, depending on what you spend it, right? Like if you're spending money on just increasing your day to day living expenses, buying that expensive car, buying a bigger house, buying a better watch, I think that's when they talk about this - I think it's a hedonistic treadmill. So you're always chasing that next high. But if you spend money, like you said, on other things, like let's say, if you were rich enough to actually hire help, you know, have somebody do chores around your house that you don't want to do. Yeah, okay, now you're buying yourself time. Right? Right. You're buying yourself time to dream, to do things that you really, really enjoy. I mean, think about how many potential award winning musicians are accountants, because they couldn't, they couldn't have the comfort or the luxury to actually dream and, you know, pursue their passion or, you know, and myself, like, I would love to stop working and just become an artist, but I know that's not going to pay my mortgage.

 

Shirley Ngo:  So Monisha, after looking at both studies, yeah, money can buy you happiness, or it can not buy you happiness. What is what is the point of all this?

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Monisha Sharma: Yeah, it's such a great question. Because there's going to be countless studies on this, because everyone wants to know: Can money buy me happiness? because people just want to be happy, right. And I think they're trying to figure out any way that they can find it. The one thing I really love about studies like this, though, and I love that we're having more and more conversations around money is because whichever way you lean whether you think you know, money doesn't buy happiness, or it buys you things that buy you happiness, the reality is that it has a huge impact on your well being. 

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Monisha Sharma:  So the next time you're out there trying to negotiate a raise, or trying to negotiate a better package for you, or trying to just even talk about money. You should feel comfortable, because you're talking about in many ways, your happiness, and you're talking about whether this is going to help you live your best life, rather than going back to you know, more traditional concepts around "Oh, this is tacky", like we said earlier, right? Or just don't be greedy. You know, there's so many friends that call me up and they're like, hey, I want to negotiate my salary. How do I go about it? And I have these conversations with them, but the reality is like they just don't feel comfortable talking about money because they think it makes them sound thankless. So I'm happy that we talk about studies like this because it's really critical for people to realize that their well being and their wealth go hand in hand. 

 

Monisha Sharma:  Okay, so you heard this song, right? More money, more problems. What do you think more money? More problems?

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Shirley Ngo:  No, absolutely not more money, more problems. It's money management, how you look at it, how you manage it. I think that's the key, right? Yes, give me more money. But I also want to know how to manage it. And once I know how to management, I not scared of it anymore. And that's empowerment. And that's freedom.

 

Monisha Sharma:  Yeah, yep. And freedom. If freedom isn't happiness, I don't know what is. So here are three key takeaways for you on how money impacts your happiness.

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Shirley Ngo:  Number one, negotiate, negotiate, negotiate, your salary, and the money you earn can impact your happiness. So make sure you get the most.

 

Monisha Sharma:  If you want to learn more, listen to our podcast, how to negotiate your way to wealth, you'll see a link provided in the Episode Notes

 

Monisha Sharma: Number two find out how you're spending your money. And if it's bringing you happiness. Are you just buying things that keep you on the hedonistic treadmill we talked about? Are you focused on buying yourself time? What are you spending your money on?

 

Shirley Ngo:  Go to our website, www.makeitshinemoney.com and download the free money management guide to start tracking.

 

Monisha Sharma:  Number three, find out the things that make you unhappy and target to eliminate them. Especially early in your career as you make your way to that $75,000 milestone, earning more money, according to studies takes away unhappiness.

 

Shirley Ngo  For example, if you hate taking the bus, buy a car, 

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Monisha Sharma  If you hate cleaning, hire a housekeeper. 

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Shirley Ngo  If you hate doing laundry, use a laundry service. 

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Monisha Sharma  These are things that are buying you more free time to focus on things that ultimately make you happy. 

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Monisha Sharma  So join us again, because as we've learned today, it's not just about having money, but also knowing what to do with it 

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Shirley Ngo  and to talk about it. 

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Monisha Sharma  That's right. And we hope every time you're here with us, we can help shine a light on your money and help you make it shine. 

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Monisha Sharma  Your feedback is very important in making sure that we're creating the right content. So please rate review and subscribe.

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Shirley Ngo  Let us know if you have any questions about money. And we can even invite some experts to join us at the next podcast.