The modern world offers more ways than ever to acquire, upgrade, and accumulate material things. Yet a growing body of research suggests the opposite path—choosing less over more—may lead to a more fulfilling life.

A new study from researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand suggests that people who deliberately choose a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity, such as embracing frugality, sharing resources, and resisting the pull of consumerism, report higher levels of wellbeing. Not because they shun possessions (which all people need to a degree), but because they gain something else: a sense of purpose, deeper social ties, and a more meaningful life.

What Is Voluntary Simplicity—and Why Does It Matter?

Voluntary simplicity isn’t about poverty or renunciation and moving into a cabin in the woods. Instead, it’s a conscious choice to live with enough rather than more.

In the study, researchers surveyed over 1,000 New Zealanders representing a cross-section of age, income, and gender. Researchers asked participants about their spending habits, lifestyle choices, and sense of well-being, both hedonic (pleasure and satisfaction) and eudaimonic (meaning and purpose).

They found a clear connection: people who embraced voluntary simplicity were happier overall.

“It’s not directly the commitment to material simplicity that leads to wellbeing,” said Professor Rob Aitken, one of the study’s authors. “But the psychological and emotional need fulfilment that derives from relationships, social connection, community involvement and a sense of living a purposeful and meaningful life.”

The findings, published in the Journal of Macromarketing, build on years of research showing that the pursuit of wealth and material goods often fails to deliver the happiness it promises. Instead, the researchers say, people find joy in smaller, more communal things: time with loved ones, local gardens, shared tools, peer-to-peer networks, and the quiet dignity of living by one’s values.

Why Now?

The timing of the research feels especially poignant.

Global material consumption has tripled since the 1970s. From 2000 to 2019 alone, domestic consumption jumped by 66%, reaching a staggering 95.1 billion metric tons annually. Affluent societies consume more—and waste more—than ever before.

“In a world where billionaire weddings are treated like state occasions and private yachts are the new status symbols,” Aitken said, “voluntary simplicity offers a quiet, powerful counter-narrative—one that values enough over excess, connection over consumption, and meaning over materialism.” And in a post-pandemic era, marked by financial uncertainty and growing concerns about the planet’s future, many are beginning to rethink the promises of endless consumption.

As co-author Associate Professor Leah Watkins put it, “Attitudes to, and experiences of, materialistic approaches to life do not lead to increases in happiness or wellbeing. Nor do they lead to sustainable consumption necessary for planetary health.”

What Makes People Happy Really?

It turns out the answer is more nuanced than most bank ads would have us believe.

Money does matter—but only up to a point.

“There’s an income curve,” Watkins told Stuff. “Up to a certain level, as income increases, it does lead to greater happiness. But above a certain point it no longer contributes to people’s sense of wellbeing. In fact, it may lead to more depression and unhappiness.”

The research reinforces what economists like Shamubeel Eaqub have long noted: money is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for happiness. Once basic needs are met, additional income offers only modest gains in life satisfaction.

“It’s not the money itself that’s making you happy,” Eaqub said, “but the fact that because you have money, you have choices. You have dignity.”

Stats NZ reported in 2023 that low life satisfaction was primarily concentrated among households earning less than $30,000 annually in New Zealand. Beyond that, happiness gains were less tied to income and more to what people did with their time and resources. In 2010, Princeton University’s late Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton found that day-to-day happiness among Americans rose as annual income increased. But above $75,000 ,it leveled off and happiness plateaued. In contrast, work published in 2021 by the University of Pennsylvania’s Matthew Killingsworth found that happiness rose steadily with income well beyond $75,000, without evidence of a plateau.

In the Otago study, those living simply often worked fewer hours and prioritized experiences over accumulation. Many were women, though researchers say more study is needed to understand the gender gap.

Crucially, it was not frugality alone that led to happiness. It was what came with it: time for relationships, for reflection, for community.

The Takeaway for Modern Living

The study does not call for an end to capitalism or consumer culture. Instead, it offers something gentler.

A reminder that fulfillment may lie not in having more, but in needing less.

For policymakers and companies, the message is clear: systems that encourage connection, cooperation, and purpose-driven living can foster wellbeing more effectively than those that push consumption for its own sake.

“For these things to make a big difference you need systemic changes,” Aitken acknowledged. “And we can’t really do that. But we can show to some brands or companies: emphasise the values-driven sharing, collaborating, peer-to-peer stuff. It is really liked and it does lead to happiness.”

In other words, the path to a better life might start not with buying something new, but with sharing what we already have.

The modern world offers more ways than ever to acquire, upgrade, and accumulate material things. Yet a growing body of research suggests the opposite path—choosing less over more—may lead to a more fulfilling life.

A new study from researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand suggests that people who deliberately choose a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity, such as embracing frugality, sharing resources, and resisting the pull of consumerism, report higher levels of wellbeing. Not because they shun possessions (which all people need to a degree), but because they gain something else: a sense of purpose, deeper social ties, and a more meaningful life.

What Is Voluntary Simplicity—and Why Does It Matter?

Voluntary simplicity isn’t about poverty or renunciation and moving into a cabin in the woods. Instead, it’s a conscious choice to live with enough rather than more.

In the study, researchers surveyed over 1,000 New Zealanders representing a cross-section of age, income, and gender. Researchers asked participants about their spending habits, lifestyle choices, and sense of well-being, both hedonic (pleasure and satisfaction) and eudaimonic (meaning and purpose).

They found a clear connection: people who embraced voluntary simplicity were happier overall.

“It’s not directly the commitment to material simplicity that leads to wellbeing,” said Professor Rob Aitken, one of the study’s authors. “But the psychological and emotional need fulfilment that derives from relationships, social connection, community involvement and a sense of living a purposeful and meaningful life.”

The findings, published in the Journal of Macromarketing, build on years of research showing that the pursuit of wealth and material goods often fails to deliver the happiness it promises. Instead, the researchers say, people find joy in smaller, more communal things: time with loved ones, local gardens, shared tools, peer-to-peer networks, and the quiet dignity of living by one’s values.

Why Now?

The timing of the research feels especially poignant.

Global material consumption has tripled since the 1970s. From 2000 to 2019 alone, domestic consumption jumped by 66%, reaching a staggering 95.1 billion metric tons annually. Affluent societies consume more—and waste more—than ever before.

“In a world where billionaire weddings are treated like state occasions and private yachts are the new status symbols,” Aitken said, “voluntary simplicity offers a quiet, powerful counter-narrative—one that values enough over excess, connection over consumption, and meaning over materialism.” And in a post-pandemic era, marked by financial uncertainty and growing concerns about the planet’s future, many are beginning to rethink the promises of endless consumption.

As co-author Associate Professor Leah Watkins put it, “Attitudes to, and experiences of, materialistic approaches to life do not lead to increases in happiness or wellbeing. Nor do they lead to sustainable consumption necessary for planetary health.”

What Makes People Happy Really?

It turns out the answer is more nuanced than most bank ads would have us believe.

Money does matter—but only up to a point.

“There’s an income curve,” Watkins told Stuff. “Up to a certain level, as income increases, it does lead to greater happiness. But above a certain point it no longer contributes to people’s sense of wellbeing. In fact, it may lead to more depression and unhappiness.”

The research reinforces what economists like Shamubeel Eaqub have long noted: money is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for happiness. Once basic needs are met, additional income offers only modest gains in life satisfaction.

“It’s not the money itself that’s making you happy,” Eaqub said, “but the fact that because you have money, you have choices. You have dignity.”

Stats NZ reported in 2023 that low life satisfaction was primarily concentrated among households earning less than $30,000 annually in New Zealand. Beyond that, happiness gains were less tied to income and more to what people did with their time and resources. In 2010, Princeton University’s late Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton found that day-to-day happiness among Americans rose as annual income increased. But above $75,000 ,it leveled off and happiness plateaued. In contrast, work published in 2021 by the University of Pennsylvania’s Matthew Killingsworth found that happiness rose steadily with income well beyond $75,000, without evidence of a plateau.

In the Otago study, those living simply often worked fewer hours and prioritized experiences over accumulation. Many were women, though researchers say more study is needed to understand the gender gap.

Crucially, it was not frugality alone that led to happiness. It was what came with it: time for relationships, for reflection, for community.

The Takeaway for Modern Living

The study does not call for an end to capitalism or consumer culture. Instead, it offers something gentler.

A reminder that fulfillment may lie not in having more, but in needing less.

For policymakers and companies, the message is clear: systems that encourage connection, cooperation, and purpose-driven living can foster wellbeing more effectively than those that push consumption for its own sake.

“For these things to make a big difference you need systemic changes,” Aitken acknowledged. “And we can’t really do that. But we can show to some brands or companies: emphasise the values-driven sharing, collaborating, peer-to-peer stuff. It is really liked and it does lead to happiness.”

In other words, the path to a better life might start not with buying something new, but with sharing what we already have.

The modern world offers more ways than ever to acquire, upgrade, and accumulate material things. Yet a growing body of research suggests the opposite path—choosing less over more—may lead to a more fulfilling life.

A new study from researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand suggests that people who deliberately choose a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity, such as embracing frugality, sharing resources, and resisting the pull of consumerism, report higher levels of wellbeing. Not because they shun possessions (which all people need to a degree), but because they gain something else: a sense of purpose, deeper social ties, and a more meaningful life.

What Is Voluntary Simplicity—and Why Does It Matter?

Voluntary simplicity isn’t about poverty or renunciation and moving into a cabin in the woods. Instead, it’s a conscious choice to live with enough rather than more.

In the study, researchers surveyed over 1,000 New Zealanders representing a cross-section of age, income, and gender. Researchers asked participants about their spending habits, lifestyle choices, and sense of well-being, both hedonic (pleasure and satisfaction) and eudaimonic (meaning and purpose).

They found a clear connection: people who embraced voluntary simplicity were happier overall.

“It’s not directly the commitment to material simplicity that leads to wellbeing,” said Professor Rob Aitken, one of the study’s authors. “But the psychological and emotional need fulfilment that derives from relationships, social connection, community involvement and a sense of living a purposeful and meaningful life.”

The findings, published in the Journal of Macromarketing, build on years of research showing that the pursuit of wealth and material goods often fails to deliver the happiness it promises. Instead, the researchers say, people find joy in smaller, more communal things: time with loved ones, local gardens, shared tools, peer-to-peer networks, and the quiet dignity of living by one’s values.

Why Now?

The timing of the research feels especially poignant.

Global material consumption has tripled since the 1970s. From 2000 to 2019 alone, domestic consumption jumped by 66%, reaching a staggering 95.1 billion metric tons annually. Affluent societies consume more—and waste more—than ever before.

“In a world where billionaire weddings are treated like state occasions and private yachts are the new status symbols,” Aitken said, “voluntary simplicity offers a quiet, powerful counter-narrative—one that values enough over excess, connection over consumption, and meaning over materialism.” And in a post-pandemic era, marked by financial uncertainty and growing concerns about the planet’s future, many are beginning to rethink the promises of endless consumption.

As co-author Associate Professor Leah Watkins put it, “Attitudes to, and experiences of, materialistic approaches to life do not lead to increases in happiness or wellbeing. Nor do they lead to sustainable consumption necessary for planetary health.”

What Makes People Happy Really?

It turns out the answer is more nuanced than most bank ads would have us believe.

Money does matter—but only up to a point.

“There’s an income curve,” Watkins told Stuff. “Up to a certain level, as income increases, it does lead to greater happiness. But above a certain point it no longer contributes to people’s sense of wellbeing. In fact, it may lead to more depression and unhappiness.”

The research reinforces what economists like Shamubeel Eaqub have long noted: money is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for happiness. Once basic needs are met, additional income offers only modest gains in life satisfaction.

“It’s not the money itself that’s making you happy,” Eaqub said, “but the fact that because you have money, you have choices. You have dignity.”

Stats NZ reported in 2023 that low life satisfaction was primarily concentrated among households earning less than $30,000 annually in New Zealand. Beyond that, happiness gains were less tied to income and more to what people did with their time and resources. In 2010, Princeton University’s late Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton found that day-to-day happiness among Americans rose as annual income increased. But above $75,000 ,it leveled off and happiness plateaued. In contrast, work published in 2021 by the University of Pennsylvania’s Matthew Killingsworth found that happiness rose steadily with income well beyond $75,000, without evidence of a plateau.

In the Otago study, those living simply often worked fewer hours and prioritized experiences over accumulation. Many were women, though researchers say more study is needed to understand the gender gap.

Crucially, it was not frugality alone that led to happiness. It was what came with it: time for relationships, for reflection, for community.

The Takeaway for Modern Living

The study does not call for an end to capitalism or consumer culture. Instead, it offers something gentler.

A reminder that fulfillment may lie not in having more, but in needing less.

For policymakers and companies, the message is clear: systems that encourage connection, cooperation, and purpose-driven living can foster wellbeing more effectively than those that push consumption for its own sake.

“For these things to make a big difference you need systemic changes,” Aitken acknowledged. “And we can’t really do that. But we can show to some brands or companies: emphasise the values-driven sharing, collaborating, peer-to-peer stuff. It is really liked and it does lead to happiness.”

In other words, the path to a better life might start not with buying something new, but with sharing what we already have.