11–20 of 273 posts
This cutoff where more money doesn't bring any more happiness ... maybe it's true, maybe it's not. Personally, I would like to do the experiment and then find out.
Is this net income (after taxes, and possibly after 401k [or equivalent] savings)? I would say that having no debt, or at least having manageable debt, along with knowing you are saving enough for retirement, and making enough that you don't have to second-guess if you can afford every purchase you make, is the real cutoff. For example, if you don't have mortgage debt then you are probably renting. So I consider mort…
How does ones partner affect this? Does both need to earn the maximum, or earn the double combined?
Let's ask all the employment wage slaves how happy they are and then conclude that they do not become happier above 105k based on self report. What a joke. A person making 500k or more or someone with high net worth is going to have a more full life (not needing to work, help community, help family)
depends on how that person got to making 500k or more ... they could be working like crazy, and taken out tons of loans to give their family a fancy life, thus being miserable and stressed out (golden handcuffs) ;)
However, it depends on what the debt is for.
If the debt is for a huge mortgage owning a 10 unit apartment building, but you are making a couple hundred bucks a month in net profit... then you do not feel pressure as compared to someone who took out a 30k loan to build a swimming pool.
These discussions about "income" are so skewed towards a certain type of income, namely wage income.
The people conducting these studies have their own biases: justifying taking other people's wealth via forceful means such as taxes.
You still need to work 40 hours a week or whatever, and only get X weeks of vacation. Having a 180K salary instead of 150K doesn't change any of these obligations, or change your life in any significant way, you just put away more money into the bank.
Of course, stepping from 40K to 100K in salary is practically life altering. Unless you absolutely suck at budgets you can easily get out of debt and start having real vacations. You can afford hobbies, etc.
That's one thing I've always wondered. Unless you can reach super high incomes, the "buy/rent a jet" incomes, your life isn't that different from "all the rest." You still commute to work daily, have a house, etc. I mean sure, the house and car may have higher price points, but the lifestyle is still the same. Maybe I'm wrong and all those luxury brand commercials are right, spending 30 minutes (or however long) per day in a 80K car is so much more rewarding than spending those 30 minutes in a 40K car.
Is this net income (after taxes, and possibly after 401k [or equivalent] savings)? I would say that having no debt, or at least having manageable debt, along with knowing you are saving enough for retirement, and making enough that you don't have to second-guess if you can afford every purchase you make, is the real cutoff. For example, if you don't have mortgage debt then you are probably renting. So I consider mort…
Kind of makes sense to me, once you get to a point where you're set. That is you can easily afford the main things (housing, food), plus the extras (electronics, vacations, hobbies) you need a much larger income to "move the needle" so to speak. You still need to work 40 hours a week or whatever, and only get X weeks of vacation. Having a 180K salary instead of 150K doesn't change any of these obligations, or change…
For example:
- Housekeepers who come often
- Paying someone to manage the yard
- Private school and college funds for kids
- International vacations for the whole family
- Paying for family to visit you if you are working adults