How much money do people need to be happy? • Hacker News Board

Re: How much money do people need to be happy?

#201

Post by gambiting » Thu, Mar 01, 2018, 12:03 PM UTC

IkmoIkmo wrote: post #182

faitswulff wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know how health care works anywhere else, but health expenses can range from $250 for a standard checkup, which I just got (note: it's supposed to be covered for free, but apparently insurance companies are now rejecting claims willy nilly in order to save money) to $10,000 for delivering a baby, to astronomical numbers for anything else. It really leads to a persistent feeling of danger, so yes, making 100k…

> It really leads to a persistent feeling of danger, so yes, making 100k instead of 40k could literally save your life, or at least keep you from being an indebted loan shark victim for the rest of your life. Right, that problem just doesn't exist in the Netherlands. Basically everyone pays, I would guess, around $150 a month median for insurance, with a standard deviation of probably around $25. That covers anything…

And also, most importantly, even if you lose your job you are still 100% covered. If you get some weird condition that requires a dozen operations and expensive medicine, it won't have any effect on your payments either. There's no such thing as denied coverage due to preexisting condition or anything silly like that - essentially if you are a lawful resident you can just go to hospital and get treated for free, regardless of your financial status.

Re: How much money do people need to be happy?

#202

Post by AstralStorm » Thu, Mar 01, 2018, 12:04 PM UTC

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #153

gowld wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having wealthy friends creates wealth for you. Wealthy professional friends means free medical/legal/financial advice, fancy homes to visit, fancy tools and toys to borrow, all things you can't get from poor friends.

On the other hand it would be rather sad to start selecting your friends based on their wealth.

Except everyone does it all the time. Friendships are assortative with few exceptions. (Just like most couples.)

Re: How much money do people need to be happy?

#203

Post by koolba » Thu, Mar 01, 2018, 12:07 PM UTC

robotresearcher wrote: post #127

koolba wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Robots? Assuming you already have 7+ days worth of clothes simply hire a maid to come by once a week. With a human you never have to worry about software upgrades, charging batteries, or wake up in a cold sweat in fear of your hired help violating Isaac Asimov's laws of robotics.

The question was “why can’t you automate it?”.

Automate doesn’t have to mean a machine is handling it. It means you don’t have to handle it. Human automation is a valid tool, in particular for things like housework.

Re: How much money do people need to be happy?

#204

Post by badpun » Thu, Mar 01, 2018, 12:12 PM UTC

latchkey wrote: post #189

Living in Ho Chi Minh City for the last 1.5 years (from San Francisco) and seeing how dirt poor people are, yet smiling and living their lives, the answer is 'not much'.

Isn't it a strong norm in a lot of East Asian countries to always present a happy/polite front, regardless of how you feel inside?

Re: How much money do people need to be happy?

#205

Post by afewbob » Thu, Mar 01, 2018, 12:22 PM UTC

cdoxsey wrote: post #185

I'm always struck by this proverb: > “Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. One thing I didn't see in the comments here, though I may've just missed…

I like your post. As a Christian myself, I've always found it likewise fascinating.

God's teachings on money are sprinkled throughout scripture.

You are right: God expects us to give from what He provides us with.

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. Proverbs 11:24-25

Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. Proverbs 11:28

Better is a little with righteousness than great income with injustice. Proverbs 16:8

He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty. Proverbs 22:16

Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. Proverbs 23:4

Basically, the concept of sacrificial giving is that it does hurt to give it. Jesus made it clear that giving from your surplus is fairly meaningless. Trusting in God and being obedient are what He expects. When you feel led to give, give. The more you sow, the more you reap. But Jesus is very plain in telling us to give in secret so as to please God. Men you give in public to be seen and approved by men is wrong.

Tithing is something that is largely forgotten in the post-Christian world we now find ourselves in. Peace.

Re: How much money do people need to be happy?

#206

Post by mettamage » Thu, Mar 01, 2018, 12:22 PM UTC

cdoxsey wrote: post #185

I'm always struck by this proverb: > “Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. One thing I didn't see in the comments here, though I may've just missed…

Maybe this comment is controversial, maybe it is not. Feel free to discuss it, since I am putting this out there as an idea with the intention to get more ego-centric people also to consider a more giving mentality. Despite my nickname I consider myself to be in this camp and do my best to get myself to an instinctive state of altruism, but it is tough. Training my rationality is easier than training my instinct.

Anyways, if you don't want to give 10% of your income to charity, consider giving a mixture of 10% of your income or time to really help your family. As a baseline that is (you can always help more).

Some are in families that don't need help. However, I know people that are part of a family where they are clearly the most educated person and also in a minority within their family of being able to properly read and write. Governmental institutions can be a real hazard, even if they are accomodating. When you don't have decent reading and writing skills everything of that sort is tough.

Then, there are people who clearly have poor people within their families. I mean all kinds of poor people: poor in mind, poor in spirit or poor in finances (or all three). In some cases money will solve the problem. In most cases I don't think it will. But giving them some smart attention may at least alleviate some of their suffering. I say smart attention because people who have all three could hurt you if you do not watch out.

I try to do this and find it hard. But I also think it's a better use of my time because it shows the real difficulty of solving problems for people in need. Just giving money away abstracts you away from that process. And as a bonus, they are my family :)

I'm noticing that slowly but surely it is also easier to help people that I don't know. Since it becomes easier to empathize to their situations, because I've seen them more close up.

Re: How much money do people need to be happy?

#207

Post by ivanhoe » Thu, Mar 01, 2018, 12:28 PM UTC

IkmoIkmo wrote: post #182

faitswulff wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know how health care works anywhere else, but health expenses can range from $250 for a standard checkup, which I just got (note: it's supposed to be covered for free, but apparently insurance companies are now rejecting claims willy nilly in order to save money) to $10,000 for delivering a baby, to astronomical numbers for anything else. It really leads to a persistent feeling of danger, so yes, making 100k…

> It really leads to a persistent feeling of danger, so yes, making 100k instead of 40k could literally save your life, or at least keep you from being an indebted loan shark victim for the rest of your life. Right, that problem just doesn't exist in the Netherlands. Basically everyone pays, I would guess, around $150 a month median for insurance, with a standard deviation of probably around $25. That covers anything…

But on the other hand taxes are significantly higher than in US, in order to finance that system. It's a trade off...

Re: How much money do people need to be happy?

#208

Post by joncrocks » Thu, Mar 01, 2018, 12:29 PM UTC

cdoxsey wrote: post #185

I'm always struck by this proverb: > “Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. One thing I didn't see in the comments here, though I may've just missed…

I'm curious on how you view tithing in the context of taxation.

Governments have taken upon themselves to help those in need, and taken from the population to do so. Could one not argue that a certain proportion of your income has already gone to charity? (presuming you're paying income taxes)

Re: How much money do people need to be happy?

#209

Post by b4lancesh33t » Thu, Mar 01, 2018, 12:44 PM UTC

cdoxsey wrote: post #185

I'm always struck by this proverb: > “Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. One thing I didn't see in the comments here, though I may've just missed…

Technically the tithe is to be given to the church. Charity giving is above and beyond that. And you are supposed to tithe out of your gross income -- your "first-fruits." It's an expensive habit! One of the many reasons I'm glad to no longer be religious.

Also I think that the evidence doesn't really support the idea that having too much money is bad for your happiness.

Re: How much money do people need to be happy?

#210

Post by ivanhoe » Thu, Mar 01, 2018, 12:44 PM UTC

I think the correct definition is: "When you have enough to survive and you make as much money as people you compare yourself with". That's why back in the days of socialism in Eastern Europe most of the people were quite content with being relatively poor, as long as they had the sense of social security and everyone else around them was as poor as them. On the other hand, nowadays many freelancers from poorer countries (me included), who are making a lot of money compared to their compatriots, are still not really happy as they don't make as much as their colleagues on the West. As long as you know you could be doing better you'll not be happy about the present situation... and soc. media is not helping with this...