Have you ever wondered how much you need to earn annually to be happy? $100,000? $1,000,000? NOPE, according to experts cited in a 2010 study, $75,000 is the amount after which, your happiness plateaus.
This is because satisfying the basic needs like having a roof over your head, sufficient food and meeting your basic needs will make you happier after which more money than $75,000 will not necessarily make you happier.
The amount might vary a little depending on where you live but happiness experts say they don't vary too far off from $75,000.
$75,000 works out to be about $6250 a month, I am sure many people are earning this amount in Singapore and are they happy? The video also mentioned that people rarely get satisfied with the amount of money they are earning and usually quotes a higher amount than what they actually need.
MADE TO THINK THAT MORE STUFF = MORE HAPPINESS
Americans have a fantasy that the more things we own means more happiness and so everyone is made to want more things so then this brings up the issue of higher salary = more happiness.
Social comparison was mentioned in which we want exactly what our neighbours, friends or celebraties have. And so advertisements are also wired in a way to show that you will be happier with the items.
GOLDEN HANDCUFFS
This means that the person is trapped in a job that is paying them a certain salary and they are not able to leave it because they could have bought a more expensive house or car.
SO INSTEAD OF MONEY, WHAT ELSE CAN BE AN INDICATOR OF HAPPINESS
Humility or whether your job fit your values and allow you to use your strengths can be used as an indicator. Money can indeed reduce your mental stress as you do not need to think about your essentials for example after paying for rent, insurance and necessities, how much do you have left and how much can you put aside.
One example was Gravity payments where the CEO took a million dollar paycut and the employees all had a bump up in their salaries with one staff earning $32,000 to $70,000 annually.
It was also mentioned that how you use your money can also affect your happiness as you should not spend it too much on material but instead on experiences or connection with others.
Earning more definitely means more responsibilities and more stress. The CEO from Gravity payment also mentioned that being at the top is lonely.
So this video summarized that your happiness is definitely much more than your paycheck. There are definitely many other factors involved.
For me, there was a period when I felt that money was the solution to everything especially when I was young and my parents divorced.
It made me feel that money would have solved all their issues and allowed them to be happy but as I grew up, I came to know more and definitely money was just a small component that caused my parent's divorce, there were bigger things involved other than money and I think even if there was lots of money at that time, they would still end up being divorced.
Even now, I do envy those people with a big paycheck but I understand the stress and responsibilities they hold. I am happy and definitely I can grow much more because my annual salary is not at the optimum $75,000 yet, HAHA.
What are your thoughts on this? Does your salary affect your happiness?
My salary is my current source of capital for share purchases. And I enjoy investing, so I guess my salary makes me happy? :) Of course, there are times when I feel so stressed that I dread working the next day. But I guess it is part of growing up. One has to learn to face it and rise on top of it.
ReplyDeleteI think that they have to take into account the number of hours that they work to achieve their high income as that would affect their happiness as well
ReplyDelete