'Havin' Money's Not Everything, Not Havin' It Is': The Importance of Financial Satisfaction for Life Satisfaction in Financially Stressed Households

Abstract

This paper explores the importance of financial satisfaction for overall life satisfaction in households whose principal source of subjective stress is financial. Using data drawn from 2 waves (2005, 2010) of the nationally representative General Social Survey in Canada, we find that for financially stressed Canadian households, their stress-affected sense of financial well-being overwhelmingly conditions their overall sense of life satisfaction. We consider as well the potential for financial stress to moderate the relationship between income and life satisfaction but find only a modest effect and then only for high income households in 2005.

Keywords: Subjective Financial Stress, Financial Satisfaction, Life Satisfaction, General Social Survey

JEL Classification: D12, G02