Camille Van Vyve
30 Sep 2024
Tableau Test Blog
It all began with a famous study conducted by Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman (USA) in 2010 and refined in 2023. In his original work, Kahneman highlighted a "financial threshold" for happiness: beyond an annual net income of €85,000 for a household, individual happiness stopped increasing.
Is the price of happiness the same in Belgium? How do Belgians relate money to happiness? Does the impact of money on happiness vary by generation?
Easyvest's large "Money and Happiness" barometer provides answers to these questions and, most importantly, allows the results to be refined to an unprecedented level of granularity. First, the barometer highlights two key figures: the price of happiness in capital and the price of happiness in income—that is, on one hand, the absolute value of wealth and, on the other, the monthly net income level that corresponds to "financial happiness" for the surveyed Belgians.
These two metrics can then be analyzed by language, age, gender, geography (region, province), and income level.
€1,000,000 and €5,500/month: the two magic numbers
The median price of happiness for Belgians is €1,000,000 in capital and €5,500 in net monthly income. These numbers vary significantly depending on the perspective used. For example, the median price of happiness is lower for women, particularly in terms of capital (€450,000 vs. €1,000,000). It is also proportionally higher in income in Brussels compared to other regions, and higher for Dutch speakers than for French speakers. However, it is interesting to compare the results by decile: for example, the price of happiness in the upper deciles is higher among French speakers than Dutch speakers.
Financial independence: the foundation of financial happiness
Regarding the definition of financial happiness, financial independence (33%) and the ability to cover any unexpected expenses (32%) top the list, well ahead of being able to financially care for loved ones (21%) and living impulsively and spontaneously (14%). More than 25% of respondents claim to generate all of the household's income, and these "super contributors" are almost evenly divided between men and women. However, outside of this extreme scenario, the higher the contribution to household income, the greater the proportion of men in the sample. Therefore, men still generally contribute the most to household income.
Inflation is the biggest source of financial stress
While inflation currently seems to be the biggest source of financial concern for Belgians, the context varies slightly by gender. Men appear to be more stressed by the geopolitical situation, whereas women are more concerned about their income level. However, demographics and rising interest rates do not seem to have a significant impact.
Yes, money contributes to happiness
In general, it is observed that well-being does indeed increase with income level. Although 60% of respondents said that money cannot buy happiness, it is clear that the proportion of "happy" and "very happy" respondents increases in higher income categories, while the proportion of "unhappy" and "very unhappy" respondents is greater in lower income categories.
(add graphic)But money breeds money
Another interesting, though somewhat intuitive, conclusion: as income and wealth increase, the financial happiness threshold also increases. Thus, while the median happiness price in income is €5,500/month in Belgium, it rises to €8,000/month for the highest income category. If we look at the 75th and 95th percentiles within this category, the price of happiness in income rises to €10,000 and €20,000/month, respectively. The same trends are observed for capital values.
About the survey
The survey "Does Money Make Belgians Happy?" was conducted by Easyvest between April and June 2024 at the national level. Nearly 1,600 responses were collected, with representative proportions of men and women, as well as French and Dutch speakers.
