Sunday, December 2, 2012

How Much Money to be Happy?

People considerably smarter than I and certainly more tenacious have discovered that it takes exactly $161,000 per year to be happy.
More than one study has tried to determine the financial price of happiness. Some look at wealth. Others look at income.
Wealth or income? Pish-tah. Personally, I look at whether I have to earn it myself or if it's going to be given to me. This is the real difference, kittens.
One well-publicized study last year put the optimal income for happiness at around $75,000. Rising income, it turns out, produces greater happiness until you get to around $75,000. After that, there are diminishing returns, with more income leading to little or no gain in real happiness.
If I have to earn it myself, than I'm quite satisfied with closer to $75,000, thank you.
The latest to weigh in on the issue is Skandia International's Wealth Sentiment Monitor. It found that the global average "happiness income" is around $161,000 for 13 countries surveyed. The United States wasn't specifically measured.
If, however, this magic number for happiness is going to just magically appear in my life to make me magically happy, than $161,000 is no where near enough. I'm not settling for $161,000. Freaking Mexico needs $181,169.



Pony up all you Obama lovers. Wasn't that what you voted for? To take care of others.

Well...I'm "others." And I desire a lot of "taking care of."


8 comments:

  1. That's a nice sum and I would, indeed, be happy with that amount.

    Unfortunately, it appears that the sum is becoming more of a reserved amount only politicians seem to be able to enjoy. In a less polite society, their method of acquisition would be called robbery. They call it a "living wage" and add to it yearly with raises we don't have the luxury of demanding.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, to my way of thinking, since the liberals always are talking about how their policies are all about helping others be happy, then I'm all for getting $161,000 or MORE. I'll quit working, you know, for the common good. Just to make libs happy.

      As for our politicians, they need that money. It's hard work fleecing the entire country.

      Delete
  2. Hey, whatever, I'm easy to please. As long as it's more than anybody else is getting. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HAHAHAHAHA!

      There was a study that showed that people didn't want a certain amount of money so much as they wanted MORE than others.

      We are an interesting species, are we not?

      Delete
  3. Right now I'd be really happy with $100K. Even $90K. Of course if someone wants to give me $161K I won't say no..... Or if my employers would actually just pay me comparable to other folks in other hospitals in my position in this state.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, wouldn't it be nice if the people who are always screaming about fairness were actually fair??? Then maybe we wouldn't need so many laws.

      Delete
    2. Trouble is, "fairness" in libspeak means something else entirely to what the dictionary sez...

      This is what these guys are expert at - change the language, change the deal.

      Delete
    3. "Fairness" in libspeak in the same as "fairness" in toddlerspeak. It means I WANT IT RIGHT NOW!!!! WAAAAAAAAH!

      Delete