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How much money do people need to be happy?
21–30 of 273 posts
Re: How much money do people need to be happy?
#22Yes, without limit, barring some sort of severe mental disorder.
1) Most people don’t know how to buy more happiness past some point.
2) There’s also a point at which you’re ridiculously ecstatic 24/7, so you’re really more interested in self-actualization than “happiness”.
I should clarify that I don’t yet know a good way to get instant long-term happiness, there is some work and time involved.
Re: How much money do people need to be happy?
#23Is 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…
I suspect there is another level above that at financial independence, where you have enough wealth that you don't have to work. Where you can lose the fear of losing your job, or go off and work on what you want even if it doesn't make much or any money.
There might be a fine line there; humans need a sense of purpose, and for many people, purpose is tied up in our job.
If you no longer have to work, and you choose not to work because your current job isn't ideal, it can be hard to get the motivation to search for a new job. At the same time, without work, it can be hard to find purpose.
So you might be stuck in a situation where you aren't working and struggling to find meaning.
Re: How much money do people need to be happy?
#24Can confirm pretty miserable on 25k
Re: How much money do people need to be happy?
#25I always feel compelled to introduce people to the sage words of that great philosopher, Arnold Schwarzenegger, on this topic: "Money doesn't make you happy. I now have $50 million but I was just as happy when I had $48 million."
Re: How much money do people need to be happy?
#26Years ago a real estate agent driving me around to look at property relayed a somewhat pessimistic aphorism he'd picked up from his father: Life's a shit sandwich, the more bread you have the less it tastes like shit.
Re: How much money do people need to be happy?
#27Kind 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…
There are still lots of QOL improvements to be made above, say, $150k. It may depend a lot on if you have kids and where you live. This is especially true when compounded with typical retirement savings and kid expenses. 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…
Definitely depends heavily on region and your family situation. Using just actual dollar values makes this discussion difficult. A $150k lifestyle in the Bay Area with a spouse and 2 kids is vastly vastly different standard of living than $150k as a single dude in an apartment in a suburb of Atlanta. In the Bay Area for example, you’re not doing ANY of those things you listed making just $150k.
Re: How much money do people need to be happy?
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
I suspect there is another level above that at financial independence, where you have enough wealth that you don't have to work. Where you can lose the fear of losing your job, or go off and work on what you want even if it doesn't make much or any money.
There might be a fine line there; humans need a sense of purpose, and for many people, purpose is tied up in our job. If you no longer have to work, and you choose not to work because your current job isn't ideal, it can be hard to get the motivation to search for a new job. At the same time, without work, it can be hard to find purpose. So you might be stuck in a situation where you aren't working and struggling to…
That seems like a cultural thing, though - many Western cultures wrap up personal identity in job description, but there's nothing biological to stop people from just laying out a purpose for themselves and pursuing it.
There are plenty of financial reasons, but isn't that what we're talking about? If you have enough money that you don't have to work for the rest of your life, you probably have enough money that you can spend your time on whatever act of creation you find fulfilling.
Re: How much money do people need to be happy?
#29The real test for me is: Do I have sufficient assets to quit my job and still maintain my current standard of living and spending habits? It has nothing to do with wage income.
Re: How much money do people need to be happy?
#30I've seen it suggested elsewhere that there is no saturation point, it's just that the relationship is logarithmic, and truncated logarithmic datasets look asymptotic.
You‘re probably referring to this research:
https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/05/daily-...
...which by the way I find extremely plausible, just judging by the fact that most of our senses (hearing volume & frequency, light intensity, etc.) are perceived in a logarithmic way.
That being said, my personal opinion is that money does not make people happy, but it definitely prevents a lot of causes of unhappiness.