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I'm guessing this is for an individual, and not a family (since family size isn't even defined) So with that, I think 75k is definitely enough to live a happy life - at least when you're young and only supporting yourself. Say you live in Chicago or New York, here's how I see it breaking down: 10k in taxes
20-25k for monthly rent, bills, and expenses (sure that's not a Lakeshore drive 40th floor apartment, but still nothing shabby).
10k for food (I'm being really generous here)
That's pretty much everything you need to survive, and survive comfortably. So that's still, what, 35k in free spending money? Of course it's not too difficult to spend 35k, but the point is that it's a lot of money for free spending. Some save, some buy nice cars and things, most are usually somewhere in between. I still have a couple years till graduation, but if I'm making 70-75k after graduation, there's no way I'm complaining.Beyond 75k, the happiness it brings definitely varies by person. If I had significantly more than 75k a year, the first thing I would think is "Now I have some money to do something I really want". I'm talking about startups, which I think becomes a lot more doable when you have some money to spend on an idea. Also lets not forget the happiness more money can bring. I think the householder pulling 300k a year is going to feel a lot more relieved going home then someone else making 75k. Person 1 could be unemployed tomorrow, and still be okay. But Person 2, if they lose the job, could be in a lot of trouble trying to support kids and pay the mortgage. The stress Person 1 has is significant, and I don't think this study really considers that. |