I once read a study stating that the happyness of a rich person is just slightly (very slightly) higher than a middle-class worker.
Some randon toughts:
1) The middle-class worker here is someone from a normal country. Not a middle-class worker getting poor like here in Portugal. I have to count every cent now, since Portugal is being destroyed by the "economic crysis". The study admits that, altought money is not happyness, if the person is poor or always fearing of loosing job, receiving low payments, etc, the degree of hapyness is not the same.
2) If i won the lottery, my happyness would not be "wow, i have lots of money to buy a lot of nice things" but instead would be "wow, bye bye boring job, now i have plenty of time for me and my family".
3) In a country like Portugal people are sad because of the heavy measures for controling the economic problem we are suffering. But part of the problem is on TV & news. I mean, if i dont see tv or the news, i will not be so sad. TV is always showing the same stupid things again and again, always the crysis and the money and this and that...Boring! So, best thing to do: dont watch tv news. They will just get you more sad if you live in a country with some economic problems.
4) When i am sad because of the economic situation here in my country (and by consequence my $$ are affected too), i think for myself that i am ok and in a much better situation than a lot of people and much better than countrys with MUCH more worse problems than me. I still have a job (but not my wife) and money for food, water, electricty, and so on. And i have health! Thats great! And i found the teaching of Pure Land, even greater
5) Another trick is to remember that there are people that have a real happyness and no money at all: duthanga monks (or the like). When i read the biography of great sages or monks, like Acarya Mun, i get really inspired. They show us in a practical way that money is not happyness. Easy to say but hard to do, but they can do it because of the strenght of Dharma in their souls and life.