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Happiness is earning $60,000/year

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Re: Happiness is earning $60,000/year

#31

Post by timwiseman »

goodside wrote: post #6
gyardley wrote: post #2

Happiness is not having others try to tell you what makes you happy based off of some study.

I hold the same philosophy with regard to cigarettes. I'll decide for myself what's carcinogenic, thank you very much.

I am afraid that saying cirgarettes are carcinogenic is a simple fact. It has been established strongly that they increase the risk of cancer, and that is the very definition of the word.

With that said, I support your right to decide for yourself what is an acceptable level of risk for you and to enjoy them if you please. I choose to refrain, but that is my choice and you have every right to make a different one.

Re: Happiness is earning $60,000/year

#32

Post by kqr2 »

grellas wrote: post #26

Americans are materially wealthy relative to most of the rest of the world. I would suspect (without having any sort of citation to support it) that, when compared to Americans, most of the people who have ever lived in any time and in any country have known nowhere near the standard of living represented by a $60K annual income in the U.S. today. If that assumption is true, and if the premise of this piece is also c…

I think the key to the $60K happiness threshold is that it represents being in the top 20% income bracket.

Standard of living may be lower elsewhere, however, an individual's relative wealth (especially with respect to peers) is probably what's really relevant:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3315638/Rela...

Re: Happiness is earning $60,000/year

#33

Post by ruslan »

Kilimanjaro wrote: post #5

Nop, happiness is about having $10M in assets and earning $1M a year in royalties. Believe me. Until then, keep coding...

If I had that wealth I would still keep coding... just for fun and for the sake of coding! Probably I would focus on something extraordinary, like robotics or AI.

Re: Happiness is earning $60,000/year

#34

Post by hugh3 »

chr15 wrote: post #3

If you make too little money, all you think about is money. If you make too much money, all you think about it money. I'd have to agree with this article. Personally, I think much of happiness comes from finding the middle ground where you don't don't have to think about money.

I forget who it was who said that money is like sex: you only think about it when you're not getting enough of it, and if you are you find something more interesting to think about. I also forget whether this was supposed to be a commentary on money or a commentary on sex.

In any case, if you're getting enough of both you're probably pretty happy.

Re: Happiness is earning $60,000/year

#35

Post by hugh3 »

blizkreeg wrote: post #21

Whether it is in the making of $60K or $1M per year, happiness is in the pursuit of the making, of the living. An analogy I like is if you ask a 'tourist' about his memories of a place, you're likely to get a very different answer than if you ask a 'traveler'. In fact, in the former case, you might even get a rather drab answer. The latter will inspire you.

In my experience, "travelers" are just tourists who have a complex about it.

Re: Happiness is earning $60,000/year

#36

Post by kqr2 »

goodside wrote: post #6
gyardley wrote: post #2

Happiness is not having others try to tell you what makes you happy based off of some study.

I hold the same philosophy with regard to cigarettes. I'll decide for myself what's carcinogenic, thank you very much.

As long as your second hand smoke doesn't affect others.

Re: Happiness is earning $60,000/year

#37

Post by hugh3 »

lukesandberg wrote: post #24
derefr wrote: post #15

Another interpretation is that it currently requires $60,000/year for a US citizen to not be lacking the means to fulfill one or another step on Maslow's hierarchy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslows_hierarchy_of_needs Given that the [2008] US GDP is $14.4 trillion/year, and there are ~300 million US citizens, it turns out we're each, on average, creating $48,000/year in value. So, on average, each citizen is $12,0…

yeah but the median income is really the key indicator here, and median US income (25+ years old) is more like 32K http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_S... so most people are more like 28K short of 'happiness'

I can only assume that it's talking about household income. A family of four with an income of $240K has a standard of living nothing like a single person earning $60K.

Re: Happiness is earning $60,000/year

#38

Post by SamAtt »

I've never agreed with this theory. He seems to frame things in terms of irresponsible living and under that criteria I agree. If the difference between 60k and 90k is just "a little more “entertainment” and maybe some bigger stuff" to you than his theory works out.

But to the person who invests that extra 30k a year and gets to retire at 50 instead of 70 I think the happiness difference is pretty significant. I'd bet the 55 year old who gets to spend his days as he wishes is much happier than the 55 year old still working his 9 to 5 job.

Re: Happiness is earning $60,000/year

#39

Post by [deleted] »

electromagnetic wrote: post #18
proee wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In other words, ignorance is bliss...

Isn't it? What makes you happier; smoking a cigarette that makes you feel good, or avoiding it like all hell because it could cause cancer in you? Similarly, what makes you happier; eating a double big mac, large fries and substitute a large drink for a large milkshake and almost die from a foodgasm, or be told you just ate like 1000 calories and you're basically going to have to eat rice cakes for the rest of the da…

[deleted]

Re: Happiness is earning $60,000/year

#40

Post by sosuke »

So if I'm single $60k is fine, throw in some dependents and that changes very fast. I think I'd be happier at $180k a year and $60k more for each new dependent that comes along. That takes care of health, house, education and plenty extra to stash away.
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