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Money is only part of the equation. Being able to have the means , to continue to live comfortably, now and in the future is all that really matters. In NYC , it means , taking in $75k single. $150k for a double/ small family.
It would mean that the kids might be able to go to private school, you get to live in a pretty safe neighborhood, you can afford a nice vacation every year, you can own a fairly new car, you can have an emergency fund of 1 years living expenses, and one less thing to argue with the spouse over.
I would imagine , if making serious bank, there would be too many expectations, way more unnecessary bills, marital problems, sense of entitlement, snobbish behavior.
To truley be happy, I believe everyone should be humbled , and experience what it is really like to live broke..
The $75,000 number is a single number. If you believe that all people are the same and that that one number will work for all people then it will probably work for you.
I don't think all people are the same. I think that some people have simpler needs and some have more complex needs. Therefore the amount of money that will bring happiness (actually less misery) will vary from person to person. For some the number may be ~$40,000 for others, $40,000,000.
An important factor is relative change. We naturally expect our situation to improve and our life to get better over time. Nobody likes taking a step backward. A person making $50k that gets up to $75k is probably going to be happy. A person making $100k that gets set back to $75k is probably not going to be happy.
I have never been rich but I have been comfortable and then I have also known what is like to have your electricity turned off because you couldn't pay the bill and it was 30 degrees outside and my boys were under 8 years old. I know what it's like to have to go through your pockets, couch cushions, etc. to scrounge up enough money to buy diapers. Those were stressful times.
Having money gives you freedom. Freedom to move to a better neighborhood or a better city. Money give you the freedom to not freak out if your kid breaks a window of if your car breaks down. It gives you the freedom to donate to charities that are close to your heart. I've never wanted to be "rich" - I've always been happy to have enough to pay my bills on time with some left over.
When you look at people who are well off but yet they commit suicide, you realize that money does not buy happiness. However I still wouldn't mind winning the lottery. I could do so much good with that money.
This is one of the ceaseless debates, raging for millennia. Have we now new knowledge, to inform the discussion? It was presumably no longer novel even in the time of Qoheleth. But, perennial questions beg perennial answers, and it’s oh-so-delicious to bite into them; so, here goes.
Melancholic persons, unenthused about life and skeptical of its “big picture” significance, are not going to banish their melancholy through lucre. But assuredly, if their self-imposed woes are compounded by the externally-imposed woes of privation and penury, they will likely feel worse, instead of doffing their melancholy and embracing some smell-the-roses love of simplicity.
My own frustration is in the extent to which our money defines us. Saving for retirement is important, no? How important? At what point does it become an obsession? Upon accumulating a certain amount, one’s day becomes consumed with obsession over how the market did, whether one is “worth” more or less, by day’s end. And there really is not day’s end, for shortly after the New York Stock Exchange closes, those in the Far East are just opening. If the market drops by 20%, am I 20% inferior as a person? If not, why did I bother saving that money anyway? Should I perhaps instead have saved it, or given it away?
Most of us, even the curmudgeons and cynics, would rather have more money, than less. Less is more, except when it’s not. How to reconcile emotion with reality? That perhaps is the core problem, and money obtrudes merely because it’s easy to quantify and reckon its’ flow and ebb.
I Never said money isn't important and I would rather have a nest egg than not.
And I make credit card payments monthly and I really don't care what is left when I'm gone ... debts or cash. I have this feeling if our govt can put us in 20trillion debt with their wars, my little debt to society is NOTHING. My mom made us fried bologna sandwiches as a kid. And fish sticks. I know from meager times.
My goal is not a home on the ocean, I'm happy with my apt close to the ocean. Did I plan it all, no, it happened in my life. And rent goes up every year.
Travel is very expensive, and so are many hobbies.
Basically the majority of posters who say money doesn't equal more happiness lack a lot of life experiences. They hardly ever travel, don't date a lot, probably don't socialize a lot, eat at home whenever they can, wear the same clothes over and over, avoid any events that cost money, and are minimalists.
That kind of lifestyle doesn't require a lot of money. But the majority wouldn't be happy with it either.
Now I'm not saying we don't need money, we do. And depending too on where on reisdes, is a factor on how much. Just listening to Dr. Wendy Walsh on the radio, she made the comment that there is a money ceiling to make one happier and that is about $75K per year. She was probably talking about So. Cal since that is where we are. That $75K per year in Pittsburgh Pa would go a lot further.
Thinking back over my life and I now bring in so little with a small pension and social security and some savings, but needs are so little and my wants.
When I made over $73K back in the late 70's early 80's I was killing myself working like a fool and treating money like it was a god. Buying STUFF I didn't need and over the last few yrs getting rid of that stuff.
When I hit $40K at a period, I panicked and went out and bought a condo, bad investment. But it was a lesson and I sold it 5 yrs later. I didn't like the location but making that money put me in another tax bracket so felt a NEED to buy something big like a condo. A house is out of sight price wise plus I didn't want a house for a single lady.
After 9 yrs I left that $73K job as I had no more blood to give and took a job for something like $34K as I search back into my memory bank. And I was just fine.
Would I do some things differently, you bet.
Some of the happiest seeming people are those with so much less than me...They are so grateful for what they have and so much more content. If you don't have it, you can't spend it. Just like if you don't keep that ice cream in the freezer, you won't eat it....
I thought Dr. Wendy gave some good advice on happiness and money. Those who makes millions/billions, they all put their pants on the say way as you and I.. And happy, who knows. Mod cut.
She also made the comment, older people are much more happy than younger. I agree, it took a lot of years of blood, sweat and tears to get here. So we better be content and when young do some SERVICE to others, doing service brings one happiness. Try it. My younger neighbors help me and one says I love to be of service doing what I do for you.
It seems like you have gained lots of perspective throughout your experiences. A lot of people say that you don't need more money to be happy and yet they say it just because it is a saying. It is not as common that I hear someone who has experienced it.
Talking to a good friend the other day, who did very well financially, she's retired in a senior community, owns a house, bank owns it, pays fairly high taxes, maintenance and she's alone in this very nice house. Uses a lot of A/C as it's hot in her area.
She does a lot of volunteer work in retirement, goes out to dinner a couple times a week, movies and she claims she is NOT content. She can't stand to be home too much. So, again it's a mindset of contentment or lack of....and money does help
and I've found I may be able to get food assistance from my state since I am a medical recepient, and that extra $194/mo for food would be nice. But if I'm not approved then I will still eat.
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