How much money do you need to be happy?

busiscoming2

As long as income is more than outgoings and I can keep overpaying on the mortgage (to get rid), a couple of nice holidays a year and enough for a few luxuries, then I am happy.

DKLS

Money doesn't equal happiness in my life, but money does give me more choices.
So I would say a minimum of 100k a year to have lots of happy choices.

ninky_2

bendix wrote: »

The bottom line is this. Utopian ideologies dont work because they fail to take into account one thing - human nature. If they did work, they would have prevailed, but none have.

Bendix can you give me an example of a system that has actually "prevailed" as you put it. I can't think of any empire that hasn't risen and fallen. There are very very few examples of utopian idealogies put into practice so I don't think you can use history as your guide in this case.

You can't dismiss every economic idea that is for the betterment of society as "utopian" and neither can you tar every future philosophy with the same brush. Human's are capable of evolving. It is possible that we might evolve for the better.

Cleaver

My happiness is dictated by the health and happiness of my family and myself, whether I find my job or life pursuits challenging and interesting and the small interesting bits and bobs in my life that keep my occupied day to day. None of these are particulary related to money.

I buy in to the theory (apologies, can't remember who's theory it is, but someone on here will know) about life being divded in to 'satisfying' and 'motivating' factors. Motivating factors are the aspects of your life that challenge, interest and please you: hobbies, helping others, your relationships, interesting jobs, pastimes, family gatherings, seeing friends, completing tasks and challenges. Satisfying factors are things that don't exactly give you any happiness but are vital for the motivating factors to take place. Satisfiers include heat / warmth, light, food, water, basic amenities, the ability to spend time on something other than just survival, and... money.

So whilst money is 'important', it's a satisfier, not a motivator. My two penneth anyway.

PasturesNew

ninky wrote: »

Last year I had a turnover of 55k and a taxable profit of 33k. If everyone around me was earning the same I think I would be perfectly happy.

If I was earning that I'd be really really happy. I got about half that - and half that is "the basics", with no "joy factors".

You have to have some joy... I've been told. Still waiting to get to that stage.

ninky_2

PasturesNew wrote: »

If I was earning that I'd be really really happy. I got about half that - and half that is "the basics", with no "joy factors".

You have to have some joy... I've been told. Still waiting to get to that stage.

Fingers crossed for you PasturesNew. I think anyone in work deserves that much quite frankly.

amcluesent

>apologies, can't remember who's theory it is, but someone on here will know<

Abraham Maslow?

bo_drinker

stevetodd wrote: »

I don't think money and happiness are connected to each other 100%

What he said. :T

lostinrates

ninky wrote: »

but would you really want to earn more than 20k a week?! how much is enough?

to me desiring more than that suggests some deep seated unhappiness that i suspect no money would ever be enough to remove....

You said you would be starting at that, suggesting you were scaling down after that. You make no difference to how I'd spend it in your assessment of my happiness? suppose my ambition is to earn 20k a week to give all but £100 quid of it to cancer research, or other worthy causes? you may well think not wanting to see a limit on earning suggests deep seated unhappiness, but I beg to differ. What I resent in such a plan is a cap to ambition,and the suggestion that all wants and aspirations of all are equal. (very different to all people being equal) I think we stand from places where it is almost impossible to see the others vantage point. I am well aware I'm never going o have 20k a week. But I don't mind that some do. I'd like them to pay their taxes, though.

silvercar

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery.

Charles Dickens