The day I got signed on for 120k was the day all my financial anxieties went away. I'm not rich by any means. My rent is still stupid high. My bills never stop coming in. But I can finally afford furniture. I can finally afford to visit my family when I want to. I don't worry about min-maxing at the grocery store. I'm not "happy" but it's the closest I've ever been
I remember a time when someone making "six figures" was extremely wealthy. Now six figures just seems to be the baseline for even having a chance at tackling home ownership in suburban areas. 120k is probably ideal. I don't likely need more than that and it should be enough to pay for a comfortable lifestyle.
Getting there is the tricky part.
Bills plus car fuel and maintenance plus the cost of good quality food plus full coverage of medical insurance plus deductible (yay America) plus mortgage payments plus 10-20% on top of that.
Basically, cover the cost of very comfortable living and take the financial worry out of being alive.
Edit: echoing other comments, this would not make me happy directly. It would open up more possibilities to pursue the things in life that bring/grow happiness.
Enough that I didn't have to worry about not being able to pay rent and bills.
No amount will make me happy.
Once your basic needs are met, the equation becomes: Salary = Expenses + Savings. So, the questions becomes, how much savings makes you happy?
If you are happy to work in your job until "retirement age", a small savings rate will do, in theory; that is if the salary is adjusted for cost-of-living and tax.
Are you happy working this job for the rest of your life? Full time (whatever that means in your work culture)?
For me, other factors are much more important than the salary.
A tedious job with unpleasant colleagues would never make me happy, no matter how high the salary. On the other hand, if I had a job that was fun and had nice colleagues, I would be happy with a salary that only covered the essentials.
Also, I would rather have a salary that only covers the essentials for 30 hours a week than a salary twice as high for 60 hours a week. What good is money if I can never spend it?
There are more factors that are more important to me than the salary. How much physical labor is involved in the job? Do I have to work at night? Do I work shifts or do I have flexible working hours? Does the employer offer a pension plan? Are there any other benefits? Where would I have to work, close to friends and family or far away? ...
Yeah, there really isn't just one threshold value that would make me happy. More is better of course, but there are too many other factors.
Though it's probably worth mentioning that I don't have any children and don't plan on having any.
I don't have a solid answer.
Money alone isn't going to make me happy. Yeah, it removes a lot of one type of stress. But it can also be a trap. Like, I'm doing solidly okay in my job, but it's enough that I can't easily quit and start over in a different career, even though I stopped caring about this one a decade ago. And a high-paying job can come with a lot of other stressors, things that keep you working harder and longer hours than you otherwise would.
$100k would probably seem pretty good for a long time, given where I currently live. If I had to live in NYC, I'd probably say more like $500k.
1/3 median home price for area of employment.
In the short term? $50k. Enough to get by and save for big purchases with enough left over to get a faster motorcycle.
In the long term? $100k. Enough to seriously save up for an actual house to live the American Dream.
A question like this could be an intro to a shady MLM pitch. Break the ice, get the conversation going and gain a sense of the range of numbers to make up for earnings examples.
I make 120k in a medium sized city where the median income is about 75k. I'm pretty content, tbh. I also don't buy shit i don't need. Most of my expenses are my hobbies. I do have a lot of hobbies. But I still make enough every two weeks where I'm able to stash it away in a savings account.
Now if I only knew how to and had the balls to invest beyond retirement accounts.
Something like 100k€ would enable me to do all the traveling I want to do and simultaneously save up enough money for a comfortable early retirement. Currently I'm focussing more on having a job that isn't soul-crushingly stressful and full of overtime though.
$13k/yr post tax, just depends on how much work I'd have to do for it
I reckon I'd have severely diminishing returns past 6 figures, and I would (and do) trade income for less hours with a better work environment well before that.
I'd be happy with 50k SEK/month after tax with the current inflation.
Anything over $100k is plenty to live, travel, and invest with if you don't plan on having kids. There's a point where it's time and experiences that are more valuable than the money, so I'd prefer fewer working hours or more engaging work than simply just salary increases. I'm certainly happy to receive bonuses and raises, but as an engineer who has never made under $100k/yr the money doesn't change anything about the way I live and enjoy life (note that I don't have expensive tastes and carefully watch for lifestyle creep).
It isn't just the salary though. I am convinced that there is enough wealth to go around so nobody has to live in fear any more.
around three fiddy
I eat a lot of french fries. So maybe about 50lbs annually.
Happy as in "all absolutely necessary for survival bills are getting paid on time, all outstanding debts are getting paid down regularly, and I can afford to eat at a restaurant slightly above fast food grade once a month or so?"
$308,740/yr for the first year would do it.
After that I could probably look at halving the salary and live, if not comfortably, at least without constant worry.
Maybe start putting something away so I can retire before I hit 70.
Happiness doesn't come from money, but it sure would reduce stress.
300 million per week
5k€ (equivalent, inflation adjusted), per month
$80,000 / yr before taxes
I’m doing pretty good with $47k income right now. I would like to have a little more so I can grow my savings faster.
$150k/year. Enough to afford the house I'm in and still have enough left to not have to worry about being short on any recurring bills. Note: I'm in California. Most other states and id be fine at 90-100k.
I could make what I have now if I just had a single family home with an acre for my kids to live in when I’m dead. That’s it.
Yes
Honestly, I'd like to double mine (to about $400-500k AUD pa) and only work 40% meaning I'd be on about 175-ish.... and it'd be fine. Sadly I can't see it happening any time soon.
Edit: I know I'm doing well, but I find work super draining and would love to work part-time.
140k lets me start getting ahead properly and even start thinking about retirement.
Enough that I'm not completely broke before my next paycheck.
Seriously, that's all it would take for me to be happy, a little bit of disposable income.>5k gross
200K so I'd be able to purchase a decent flat
The one I'm on is fine. I dont need more money to be happy. Safety and security matters a shitload more than material stuff, and unfortunately money doesnt guarantee those without a bunch of other lifestyle compromises
100 fucking million a month. I want it all.
At current purchasing power, about 120k. Anything beyond that becomes nice to have, anything below and you're giving something up.
