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According to researchers (footnote, E.g., Martin Seligman, Daniel Kahneman, Ed Deiner), money buys happiness only to a very limited extent. Not having money- that is, a family income of less than 30,000- is related to less happiness, but once your basic needs are being met, the increase in happiness from say, $31,000 to $131,000 is really not that great! Hard to believe, isn’t it? Think of all the time and energy we spend trying to attain more money- and it really doesn’t make that big of a difference! The United States is a very rich country, but the overall level of happiness there is lower than in many poorer countries. So, the question is, if money can’t buy happiness, what can? Things that are hard to buy.