Abstract
Although having more money and time to spare seems intuitively linked with increased well-being, there can be too much of a spare thing. We surveyed participants from the USA (N = 444), the UK (N = 453), and Germany (N = 391) to examine how subjective and unit-free perceptions of spare money and time correlate with perceived happiness, meaning in life, and psychological richness: Three distinct components of general well-being. We used a series of quadratic regressions and ‘two-lines’ approaches to examine non-linear associations. We found that the relationship between spare money and well-being is significant and positive until a certain point, after which the relationship becomes non-significant. Interestingly, the relationship between spare time and well-being had an inverted U shape; well-being increased with increasing spare time at low levels but decreased with increasing spare time at high levels. These findings suggest complex relationships between time, money, and well-being, motivating more nuanced investigations in this domain. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.