happiness

Once again, 24/7 Wall St. has examined the OECD's report on life satisfaction. And once again, the United States fails to make the top 10 happiest nations in the world. Which countries do? Some may surprise you.

You might think that with the economy on its slow climb back to health, Americans would have gotten a little bit happier in 2011. In fact, they got a bit more miserable. And some states have more reasons to be down in the dumps than others.

CSI: NY actor and author Hill Harper dispenses can't-buy-happiness philosophy in his new book The Wealth Cure: Putting Money in Its Place. It's a guide that doesn't promise to get you rich quick, but to quickly help your life get richer.

Job growth in the traditional market is tepid, but among contractors, freelancers and e-lancers, hiring is booming. Of course, if you go that route, that means you have to handle a host of things your employer used to, but there are ways to make it less of a chore -- and new companies looking to help.

Collective hand-wringing about the economy and poll after poll showing that Americans are pessimistic about their finances misses a key point: Money can't buy you happiness.

I've been reading a lot about two subjects lately: artists and their empty lives, and happiness as it relates to one's career. These subjects seem to conflict utterly, unless you read the data from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project, which says that my theory about following your dream is...

When studies suggest some states are happier than others, tempers flare, even during the holidays. The latest one places some states with the wealthiest populations near the bottom and some of the poorer ones near the top. But other surveys have come to far different conclusions.

Money, it seems, just might be able to buy you a bit of happiness this holiday season. Or so says research from the University of British Columbia and Harvard University. The good news: It doesn't matter how much you make, because you can spend as little as $5 to get happy. But there's a catch:...

If money doesn't bring happiness, why do we devote so much of our energy chasing it? Perhaps the old adage is flawed, but not according to a study recently completed at the Universities of Warwick and Manchester, UK, which found that psychological therapy is 32 times more likely than money to bring...

There's an old saying: "Fish where the fish are." That's exactly the approach big brands are taking as the era of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube transforms how companies engage with consumers, especially the youth market. Case in point: Coca Cola (KO). The beverage giant is taking a deep dive into...