This is how much money you need to be happy

Charmonium

Lifer
May 15, 2015
10,653
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The team used the Gallup World Poll, which has surveyed 1.7 million people from 164 countries. The researchers looked at people's emotional well-being, day-to-day feelings, and life evaluation, which is essentially how satisfied you feel with your life. According to the study, which is published in Nature Human Behaviour, the relationship between money and happiness has certain thresholds.

“It’s been debated at what point does money no longer change your level of well-being. We found that the ideal income point is $95,000 for life evaluation and $60,000 to $75,000 for emotional well-being. Again, this amount is for individuals and would likely be higher for families,” lead author Andrew T. Jebb said in a statement.

http://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/study-puts-a-number-on-how-much-you-need-to-earn-to-be-happy/
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
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www.anyf.ca
Yeah I'd say that's accurate. I usually clear close to or around 80k and I'm generally happy. Would I want to make more? Sure, but I'm happy with what I have. If I had more, I imagine it would mostly go towards savings. I would feel more secure, but that's about it. 100k is probably the golden amount to be rich, anything after that would probably have diminishing returns. You can only drive one M3 at a time.
 

snoopy7548

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2005
8,300
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It depends. When I was making less I was probably more happy, but that's because I had fewer responsibilities and I was able to goof around at work more often. Also, my team was the same age as me and we all had a great sense of humor. Now I'm making a lot more than I was seven years ago, but there's less opportunity for goofing around, and I'm always more tired after work than I was years ago.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,587
10,227
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I was mostly semi-happy, with my disability check, sort of. Well, it keeps a roof over my head, and ramen in the pantry.

Yeah, I guess I'd rather be making 100K / yr instead, and have a "real job".

I'm "surviving". (Well, some people might consider it "living it large", I've got more PCs than I can use at once, and plenty of tech things. Though, I'm still somewhat budget-oriented, I don't have cable TV beyond the broadcast channels that don't come in very well over an antenna, and I don't own any iPhones or iPads. But then again, I'm not an Apple-follower.) Got enough Ramen in the pantry.

Edit: Just so people don't think I'm a complete Mooch, I was previously employed as a software programmer back in the day.
 
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Skunk-Works

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Jun 29, 2016
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Exterous

Super Moderator
Jun 20, 2006
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$95,000 per month right? Because I'm not sure I could cut spending down below that.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
41,262
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Yeah I'd say that's accurate. I usually clear close to or around 80k and I'm generally happy. Would I want to make more? Sure, but I'm happy with what I have. If I had more, I imagine it would mostly go towards savings. I would feel more secure, but that's about it. 100k is probably the golden amount to be rich, anything after that would probably have diminishing returns. You can only drive one M3 at a time.
"He who is not content with what he has would never be content with what he wants." -- Socrates
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
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Why does it give a general figure like that without considering cost of living? Our county's median income is one of the highest in the country yet many here are stressed with all the taxes and other ripoffs. As another example - since most decent homes here are 500k+, people are stressed with mortgages as a large part of their expenditures. Work longer hours or commute longer to NYC to get a good enough paying job.

It should state how much we should have left over (monthly, yearly) for our own use in order to determine what keeps one satisfied. Simply using income is largely meaningless here.
 
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