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Psychologists say they’ve found the exact amount of money you need to be happy (older study but very detailed)

entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,215
From 2018 not irrelevant. We're not talking about 1980 now lol.

1.7 million people from 164 different countries.

Emotional well being is 60-75k (Incidentally, the top end, 75k, is what Dan Price, a business owner, set the lowest starting salary at his company to great success).

Life satisfaction is 95k (close to ERA's definition of rich lol)

These are for individuals btw, not households.

Money can buy you happiness, but only a certain amount.

Psychologists from Purdue University and the University of Virginia analyzed World Gallup Poll data from 1.7 million people in 164 countries, and cross-referenced their earnings and life satisfaction. Although the cost and standard of living varies across these countries, researchers came up with a bold conclusion: The ideal income for individuals is $95,000 a year for life satisfaction and $60,000 to $75,000 a year for emotional well-being. Families with children, of course, will need more.

The study, published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, found that once that threshold was reached, further increases in income were actually associated with reduced happiness. People from wealthier countries were satisfied with their lives later on, said Andrew Jebb, the lead author of the study and doctoral student at Purdue's Department of Psychological Sciences, perhaps because they're more likely to compare themselves to others. "Evaluations tend to be more influenced by the standards by which individuals compare themselves to other people," Jebb said.

Researchers defined life satisfaction as an overall assessment of how one is doing, while emotional well-being refers to a person's day-to-day feelings such as happiness, sadness, excitement or anger.

There is a happiness tipping point: The more you have, the more you want, the study concluded. "The small decline puts one's level of well-being closer to individuals who make slightly lower incomes, perhaps due to the costs that come with the highest incomes," Jebb said. "These findings speak to a broader issue of money and happiness across cultures. Money is only a part of what really makes us happy, and we're learning more about the limits of money."
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www.marketwatch.com

Psychologists say they’ve found the exact amount of money you need to be happy

This study analyzed data from over 1.7 million people in 164 countries.
www.marketwatch.com www.marketwatch.com
 
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Rendering...

Member
Oct 30, 2017
19,089
Sweet, now I can quantify my unhappiness with more precision than ever before!

If only there were some legal way to redistribute hoarded wealth for the betterment of the majority.
 
Lakeside

Lakeside

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,226
This is incredibly valuable.

I'm planning to buy my own island and now I know how much I'll need to pay everyone to keep them happy.
 
Smitington

Smitington

Member
Oct 27, 2017
635
Denver
I mentioned it before, but I worked at that 75K company from 2013-2018.

It was an amazing place to work, and the money was a real game changer for everyone. Lots of people were able to afford to buy a house or condo, and a bunch of people had kids because they could afford it. I eventually because I was moving to be closer to family.

The only reason Dan (the owner) was able to do this, is because the company was entirely owned by him, and he never took on investors. No way it would have been possible otherwise.
 
Poyunch

Poyunch

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,362
I mean I think it's valuable information in regards to excessive wealth. Like they say a lot of people seek money out as a source of happiness to the point of excessive money but still end up extremely unhappy and then they continue to seek more money thinking it will help.

Never once wanted to be wealthy but just financially stable enough to pursue other things so like this is fine.
 
Lakeside

Lakeside

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,226
I probably need to read the article but as with so many money conversations it depends on where you live and how many ppl you have to float.
 
OP
OP
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,215
zoltek said:
This study must have avoided the Bay Area. Because... no.
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I'm sure the Bay Area has a service industry. How do they survive?

In NYC for example, many live in cheaper surroundings areas, outside of Manhattan, but still in the city limits.
 
thesoapster

thesoapster

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,910
MD, USA
I'd say for my area, low six figures is more realistic for the satisfaction portion. At least if single and only have to support yourself. If you have combined income, you could away with less and still cover costs.
 

Tunar

Member
May 6, 2020
50
entremet said:
I'm sure the Bay Area has a service industry. How do they survive?

In NYC for example, many live in cheaper surroundings areas, outside of Manhattan, but still in the city limits.
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By living hours away. Most people I knew while working at retail last year for a season job were commuting from Sacramento to San Francisco, about 2-3 hour drive depending on traffic
 
EggmaniMN

EggmaniMN

Banned
May 17, 2020
3,465
95k/year take home would have me completely set to just coast without thinking about what I'm doing. I'd easily be able to get a down payment on a nice house, make payments without a second thought, pay off my car and do whatever. That'd be more than double my current take home pay.
 
zoltek

zoltek

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,917
entremet said:
I'm sure the Bay Area has a service industry. How do they survive?

In NYC for example, many live in cheaper surroundings areas, outside of Manhattan, but still in the city limits.
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Same. Just further distance. You either get a bunch of roommates and try and survive in the city or, more likely, you don't live in the city but somewhere on the outskirts of San Francisco/San Jose proper, but then your commute is an hour-plus each way a day. Also, even then the prices on the outskirts are outrageous compared to other states.
 
PrivateWHudson

PrivateWHudson

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,215
That sounds pretty accurate to me. $150k if both parents work would be a game changer for families making under $100k. Could easily switch to a 15 year mortgage, add a pool, small addition, vacation every year, and save for college. Isn't that closer to where we would be if salaries actually had stayed steady since the 50's?
 
SneakyBadger

SneakyBadger

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,545
$60-75k lines up with what I consider to be a comfortable income. I'm a single guy living in Atlanta. $60k would basically mean never worrying about money, though I wouldn't live super luxuriously. I can't even imagine what I'd do with $95k.
 
subpar spatula

subpar spatula

Refuses to Wash his Ass
Member
Oct 26, 2017
22,152
I suppose the 70k+ take home make sense. Like, it's hard to really bungle your life with that type of money as 1 person. I guess that's why I am always happy.
 
killerrin

killerrin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,238
Toronto
Can confirm. I stopped worrying so much about money once I as a single income household hit 70k. Not to say it is all easy pickings. Still can't afford my own apartment without basically killing my potential to ever put anything towards my savings. But that's only because I still have student loans that eat a couple hundred from my monthly budget. Take that away and id be more easily able to.

So yeah. At 75k I'd be more or less set. Especially after I get these loans paid off. And anything beyond 100k and I'm laughing all the way to the bank.
 
OP
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entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,215
sanstesy said:
This is so general. Useless study.
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Lots of info on financial insecurity and how it makes folks act and the outcomes it has on children.

www.sciencedaily.com

Anxiety disorders in poor moms likely to result from poverty, not mental illness, study suggests

Poor mothers are more likely to be classified as having the mental illness known as generalized anxiety disorder because they live in poverty -- not because they are suffering from a psychiatric disorder, according to researchers.
www.sciencedaily.com
 
ItchyTasty

ItchyTasty

Member
Feb 3, 2019
5,907

I liked this episode of The Happiness Lab that discussed that after a certain amount of money, getting more of it won't make you happier. Not that more money is bad, but it won't make you a happy person magically.
 

Deleted member 19533

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,873
SneakyBadger said:
$60-75k lines up with what I consider to be a comfortable income. I'm a single guy living in Atlanta. $60k would basically mean never worrying about money, though I wouldn't live super luxuriously. I can't even imagine what I'd do with $95k.
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I have a friend that lives in Atlanta and makes 95k. He whines constantly about how he should be making more. He's 26. His wife also brings in 60k, and they have no kids. Blows my mind.
 

sanstesy

Banned
Nov 16, 2017
2,471
TheMadTitan said:
If we're trying to aim for meaningful change, it's not useless.

Having it quantified that the vast majority of your country is miserable because they're financially insecure is information that needs to be hammered home everywhere.
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entremet said:
Lots of info on financial insecurity and how it makes folks act and the outcomes it has on children.

www.sciencedaily.com

Anxiety disorders in poor moms likely to result from poverty, not mental illness, study suggests

Poor mothers are more likely to be classified as having the mental illness known as generalized anxiety disorder because they live in poverty -- not because they are suffering from a psychiatric disorder, according to researchers.
www.sciencedaily.com
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No, it's useless because the standard of living is completely different everywhere and that's a fact. What's the point of making an aggregate of 164 countries in that case? It doesn't tell you anything for any specific country which could actually be interesting.

I can tell you right now, for example, that $75.000 (nevermind 95k) is literal overkill in most European countries. Most countries would consider these people actually rich.
 
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entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,215
sanstesy said:
No, it's useless because the standard of living is completely different everywhere and that's a fact. What's the point of making an aggregate of 164 countries in that case? It doesn't tell you anything for any specific country which could actually be interesting.

I can tell you right now, for example, that 75.000$ is literal overkill in most European countries. Most countries would consider these people actually rich.
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What countries? I know the UK can be expensive.
 
T0M

T0M

Alt-Account
Banned
Aug 13, 2019
900
Does this take into account cost of living, and how can you adjust?

I make ~$76k before bonuses, but I'm fresh out of college in a high COL area (close to DC). My dollar would go much farther out in the Midwest.
 

sanstesy

Banned
Nov 16, 2017
2,471
entremet said:
What countries? I know the UK can be expensive.
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Every country except maybe Swiss, Austria and Luxemburg. The UK is that expensive in very specific areas like inner London and so on - same case for Paris and etc. but that's the minority. And almost all of eastern Europe would consider that money rich.

Let us not get even started on countries outside of North America/Europe.
 
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