MarketWatch photo illustration/iStockphoto, Everett Collection A new study finds the ideal income for individuals is $95,000 a year for life satisfaction and $60,000 to $75,000 a year for emotional well-being.Money can buy you happiness, but only a certain amount. Psychologists from Purdue University and the University of Virginia analyzed World Gallup Poll data from 1.7 million people in 164 countries, and cross-referenced their earnings and life satisfaction. Although the cost and standard of living varies across these countries, researchers came up with a bold conclusion: The ideal income for individuals is $95,000 a year for life satisfaction and $60,000 to $75,000 a year for emotional well-being. Families with children, of course, will need more. The study, published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, found that once that threshold was reached, further increases in income were actually associated with reduced happiness. People from wealthier countries were satisfied with their lives later on, said Andrew Jebb, the lead author of the study and doctoral student at Purdue’s Department of Psychological Sciences, perhaps because they’re more likely to compare themselves to others. “Evaluations tend to be more influenced by the standards by which individuals compare themselves to other people,” Jebb said.via