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If you think more money automatically means more happiness, think again. Ben Felix, Chief Investment Officer at PWL Capital, reveals the surprising truth about money’s role in crafting a good life — and why how you spend time matters just as much, if not more.
Rethinking Money: It’s Not About Earning More, But Living Better
Ben Felix opens with a jarring admission: personal finance isn’t primarily about amassing wealth, but about funding a good life. This isn’t just jargon — it’s a profound shift in mindset that questions everything from career choices to everyday spending. Felix, whose day job is Chief Investment Officer at PWL Capital, dives into the research, flipping the usual narrative that more income guarantees more happiness.
Sure, money solves problems and you need enough to pay the bills. But beyond covering basics, piling money doesn’t automatically translate to joy. Felix asks the hard questions: Is that high-paying but exhausting job worth the stress? Will gambling on an exotic stock yield real life satisfaction? Does owning a home or a cottage actually make us happier? He stresses these answers aren’t found on spreadsheets.
Happiness in Two Dimensions: Feeling Good vs. Seeing Good
Felix draws an important distinction between “experienced happiness” — the emotional highs and lows felt in daily moments — and “reflective happiness,” which is the broader evaluation of one’s life trajectory. You could have a stressful but prosperous career, scoring high on reflective happiness, yet feel miserable most days. Or kick back with friends daily yet struggle to find purpose on reflection.
This duality challenges simple measures of happiness. Felix leans on the PERMA-V model from positive psychology, which neatly organizes what we know about well-being:
- Positive Emotion: Simple pleasures like a good meal or a walk.
- Engagement: Being fully absorbed in satisfying challenges – flow state.
- Relationships: Strong ties to family and friends.
- Meaning: Serving something larger than oneself.
- Accomplishment: Pursuing difficult goals for intrinsic satisfaction.
- Vitality: Basic health pillars—good sleep, nutrition, and exercise.
The Surprising Limits of Income Gains
Now, the crunch: how does income stack up against these factors? Felix summarizes landmark studies. A 2010 US study found that life evaluation (the reflective measure) continues to rise with income, but experienced happiness plateaus at about $75,000 annually (now roughly $112,000). Another 2018 study pegged life satisfaction saturation in North America near $105,000 to $137,000 today, with experienced happiness plateauing lower.
Intriguingly, for some, very high incomes correlate with lower life satisfaction, attributed not to money itself but to the trappings it brings: more work hours, social comparison, and costly neighborhoods that erode well-being.
Though a later 2021 US study using real-time emotion tracking suggests happiness can keep climbing with income, an “adversarial collaboration” in 2023 between conflicting study authors reconciled the differences. Happier people seem to thrive more with higher income, while less happy people experience diminishing returns beyond a point.
Felix stresses the scale the studies use is logarithmic — each increase is a doubling, not a simple raise — and even then, the correlation between income and happiness is modest. In fact, the effect of quadrupling income is about equal to the ups and downs of caregiving or being married, tiny compared to daily irritations like headaches.
Chasing Wealth Can Backfire: Why Money Alone Isn’t Enough
People often overestimate the emotional lift more money will bring. Even the wealthiest assume they need substantially more wealth for true happiness. Felix points to research showing those who chase extrinsic goals like fame or fortune tend to be less happy than those focused on intrinsic goals like personal growth or community.
This explains why pursuing money purely as an end can be counterproductive. The real magic is how money helps free up time, nurture relationships, and create meaning.
Time vs. Money: The Ultimate Trade-Off
One of Felix’s most potent insights is the exchangeability of time and money. You can work longer for more cash, or spend money to reclaim time—through outsourcing chores or buying convenience. Studies find that people who prioritize time over money consistently report higher happiness, stronger social connections, and more fulfilling work.
Felix challenges us to ask whether how we spend time reflects our ideal life. If not, can money buy back time to fix that imbalance?
Big Financial Decisions Affect More Than Your Bank Account
Take housing, for example – often the largest expense but not a guaranteed happiness boost. Felix, a homeowner himself, appreciates the control and stability property ownership offers (including perks like installing a full-sized basketball hoop). Yet, research from Canada, Switzerland, the US, and Germany shows little to no happiness difference between owners and renters once other factors are controlled for. In fact, homeowners often spend less time on enjoyment because of maintenance responsibilities.
Cottages, too, promise family bonding and nature’s benefits, but Felix warns that traffic jams, upkeep, and complicated family dynamics may erode those joys.
Experiences Trump Things Every Time
When it comes to discretionary spending, research consistently shows that positive experiences yield more happiness than purchasing material goods. This aligns perfectly with the PERMA model—experiences foster engagement, relationships, and lasting memories, while things lose their shine quickly.
That said, Felix encourages reflective spending—asking how purchases contribute to your unique good life rather than mindless consumption.
Financial Independence vs. Living Today: A Delicate Balance
Financial security and independence matter because they grant control, a vital happiness driver. But saving aggressively often pits future comfort against current enjoyment. Felix reminds us that work, especially enjoyable work, supplies meaning, accomplishment, and engagement, so planning to retire early may not suit everyone.
Finding the sweet spot between saving for tomorrow while savoring today’s life is key.
Regrets Reveal What Truly Matters
Regret research sheds unexpected light on priorities. People mostly regret inaction—opportunities missed in romance, family, career, and health—not just mistakes made. Daily small decisions—like skipping saving or ignoring health—compound into lasting regrets that are hard to fix later.
This underscores how critical it is to align financial and lifestyle choices with deeper values to avoid future pain.
Goal-Setting That Reflects What You Really Want
Felix’s 2022 study involved 310 participants expanding their goals through prompts based on the PERMA-V model, revealing how many people’s stated financial goals (like simply wanting to retire) mask deeper, more meaningful desires linked to well-being.
A master list of such goals is available on PWL Capital’s website to help individuals clarify what matters most and guide better decisions.
Finding a Good Life Means Knowing Yourself—and Accepting Change
At the heart of Felix’s message is embracing the complexity of happiness. We mispredict what will satisfy us, underestimate adaptation, and presume personality stability through time, all illusions that cloud judgment.
He advises focusing less on distant, idealized futures and more on how present financial choices affect time use and daily life quality.
The journey to a good life is individual. But equipping yourself with a well-researched blueprint like PERMA-V, clear values, and mindful decision-making can transform how money and time work for you.
Money’s power lies not just in what it can buy, but how it allows you to shape a life worth living.