Financial resources impact the relationship between meaning and happiness.

Do financial resources relate to how important meaning is for one's happiness? Across three large-scale data sets spanning more than 500,000 individuals across 123 countries, we examined the relationship between meaning and happiness for individuals who vary in financial resources. Whether based on actual income level (Studies 1 and 2) or subjective assessments of socioeconomic status (Study 3), the results reveal that meaning is a weaker predictor of happiness for individuals with greater (vs. lesser) financial resources. Collectively, these studies suggest that having greater financial resources weakens the link between meaning and happiness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Pooling finances and relationship satisfaction.

When couples decide to share their lives, they are simultaneously faced with the decision of how (or whether) to pool their finances. Does the way in which couples keep their money affect happiness in their relationship? Drawing on Interdependence Theory, we demonstrate across six studies (N = 38,534)-including both primary and secondary data-that couples who pool all of their money (compared to couples who keep all or some of their money separate) experience greater relationship satisfaction and are less likely to break up. Though joining bank accounts can benefit all couples, the effect is particularly strong among couples with scarce financial resources (i.e., those with low household income or who report feeling financially distressed). These findings replicate using experimental, cross-sectional, and longitudinal data sets, as well as in both individualistic and collectivist cultures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Having too little or too much time is linked to lower subjective well-being.

Many people living in modern society feel like they do not have enough time and are constantly searching for more. But is having limited discretionary time actually detrimental? And can there be downsides of having too much discretionary time? In two large-scale data sets spanning 35,375 Americans and two experiments, we explore the relationship between the amount of discretionary time individuals have and their subjective well-being. We find and internally replicate a negative quadratic relationship between discretionary time and subjective well-being. These results show that whereas having too little time is indeed linked to lower subjective well-being caused by stress, having more time does not continually translate to greater subjective well-being. Having an abundance of discretionary time is sometimes even linked to lower subjective well-being because of a lacking sense of productivity. In such cases, the negative effect of having too much discretionary time can be attenuated when people spend this time on productive activities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Consumer debt and satisfaction in life.

Life's major purchases, such as buying a home or going to college, often involve taking on considerable debt. What are the downstream emotional consequences? Does carrying debt influence consumers' general sense of satisfaction in life? Seven studies examine the relationship between consumers' debt holdings and life satisfaction, showing that the effect depends on the type of debt. Though mortgages tend to comprise consumers' largest debts, and though credit card balances tend to have the highest interest rates, we found among a diverse sample of American adults (N = 5,808) that the type of debt most strongly associated with lower levels of life satisfaction is student loans. We further found that the extent to which consumers mentally label a given debt type as "debt" drives the emotional consequences of those debt holdings, and compared to the other debt types, student loans are perceived more as "debt." Together the findings suggest that carrying debt can spill over to undermine people's overall subjective well-being, especially when their debt is perceived as such. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

It's time for happiness.

Spotlighting the logistically and existentially foundational resource of time, this review identifies that the extent to which people focus on time, the amount of time people have, and the ways people spend their time all have a significant impact on happiness. This synthesis of the past decade of research on time and happiness advises that people should (1) focus on time (not money), (2) have neither too little nor too much time, and (3) spend the time they have deliberately.

Time, money, and morality.

Money, a resource that absorbs much daily attention, seems to be involved in much unethical behavior, which suggests that money itself may corrupt. This research examined a way to offset such potentially deleterious effects-by focusing on time, a resource that tends to receive less attention than money but is equally ubiquitous in daily life. Across four experiments, we examined whether shifting focus onto time can salvage individuals' ethicality. We found that implicitly activating the construct of time, rather than money, leads individuals to behave more ethically by cheating less. We further found that priming time reduces cheating by making people reflect on who they are. Implications for the use of time primes in discouraging dishonesty are discussed.

Giving time gives you time.

Results of four experiments reveal a counterintuitive solution to the common problem of feeling that one does not have enough time: Give some of it away. Although the objective amount of time people have cannot be increased (there are only 24 hours in a day), this research demonstrates that people's subjective sense of time affluence can be increased. We compared spending time on other people with wasting time, spending time on oneself, and even gaining a windfall of "free" time, and we found that spending time on others increases one's feeling of time affluence. The impact of giving time on feelings of time affluence is driven by a boosted sense of self-efficacy. Consequently, giving time makes people more willing to commit to future engagements despite their busy schedules.

The pursuit of happiness: time, money, and social connection.

Does thinking about time, rather than money, influence how effectively individuals pursue personal happiness? Laboratory and field experiments revealed that implicitly activating the construct of time motivates individuals to spend more time with friends and family and less time working-behaviors that are associated with greater happiness. In contrast, implicitly activating money motivates individuals to work more and socialize less, which (although productive) does not increase happiness. Implications for the relative roles of time versus money in the pursuit of happiness are discussed.