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About the money,the more the better, I think. However true happy does none with money. Happy is a state of mind. So many people who have much money are not happy at all.
"Happy" is hard to define. Are we talking being a little happy? Very happy? Happy all the time?
As long as I had a roof over my head,food on the table and my family with me I would always be at some level of happy. Does driving a nice car and having a good TV make me happier? Sure. And of course you need money for those things. But they are not the difference between happy and not happy.
Of course I would work to earn as much as possible, the point is that when you are an "employee" you are never in control of your destiny, you serve a master.
My point is that money isn't everything, quality of life has a value.
But you can have freedom (and more than 20k) working for someone else. In my current job, as long as I get the work done on time, it doesn't matter when I am in the office or what I do. No one looks over my shoulder.
Right now to maintain what I consider a comfortable lifestyle, I want at least 60k/year.
In my opinion, money will buy the few things that I strive for in life: financial security for myself and financial security for my family and children. And those things will give me happiness.
Happiness is a continuous scale, not a binary. I could probably reach a minimum level of satisfaction on full-time minimum wage, but I'd be happier with more. Research indicates that happiness tends to top out at $75,000. Since I'm frugal, it'd probably be a little lower for me.
This article is not exactly straightforward. It is cheaper to live in RURAL texas than Urban California, that is true....but the cost of living is quite high in the urban areas of Texas, and frankly, urban areas are where most of the country lives.
People assume texas is so cheap to live in because of the low housing costs and no state income tax. But the property taxes off set the income tax, and you get what you pay for with housing. Houses are cheap, and will remain cheap, unlike in other markets where your home will appreciate a great deal.
Texas is cheap compared to some places, but it's not this magic shangri-la the article makes it out to be. Generally it's true that : Low Cost of Living = Low quality of Life/Availability of Amenities.
This was discussed somewhat on a retirement thread. I think I said if had a small home paid off you would probably still need about $24K just to survive - this would be an early retirement so you would have to provide your own health insurance. If you retire very early you SS is not going to be that great, either...
I really don't mind a modest place, can't think of anything I really want except to travel and have some nice dinners and wine. Maybe I would like one really nice car before the dirt nap. I can go on the cheap but I have a weakness for luxury hotels, especially if they are historic or world-renowned.
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