Money Will Help You Be Happy Until a Certain Point Where You Have To Focus on Something Else
Fortunately, money cannot buy what is most valuable.
Money doesn't make you happy, but it contributes greatly to it. You have already heard this sentence several times, and it is not mine.
Earning a lot of money is something that millions of people fantasize about every year. And even after earning enough money to live well, these people want more.
They enter into a frantic quest for always more.
The question this raises is how much money you need in life to be happy. Once you have enough money to cover your basic needs, what else do you need?
In the happiest countries in the world, an annual salary of $81K seems to be ideal to be happy
The main reason this question is hard to answer is that it's hard to put a label on happiness. You ask ten people on the street what makes them happy in life, and you will get potentially ten different answers.
Some people who are blinded by money will probably even tell you that having lots of money makes them happy.
Your country of origin, your social background, or even your lifestyle habits will also influence the way you conceive life and therefore happiness.
A study by the website Raisin UK is particularly interesting on this subject since the authors were interested in the people living in the 20 happiest countries in the world. These countries are Luxembourg, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Italy, Singapore, the USA, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
In these countries, the people who say they are happiest when surveyed have a salary of around $81K per year or just over $6,750 per month.
Beyond this threshold, happiness is harder to achieve because of the extra workload and stress involved
As you can see, this ideal salary is not within reach of everyone. It is nowhere near what a majority of people in these countries and other less wealthy countries around the world earn.
Furthermore, your standard of living will not be the same in Europe at $6,750 per month or in America. Most European countries have a much more protective health care system that allows you to have more money for yourself, even if you are hit hard.
That being said, the study points out that beyond that $81K a year, the people surveyed are less happy. Their jobs become too demanding and they don't have enough time to enjoy their lives. This is something that those who want to earn more and more money don't think about, but earning more money by being forced to work constantly will only lock you in a prison. A golden prison indeed, but a real prison.
Below $81K a year, people have less opportunity to enjoy their lives by traveling for example, or having experiences that make life more enjoyable.
As I said earlier, it is all relative, as some people will settle for much less than that to be happy. Nevertheless, this is indicative of the fact that at some point, you must seek to focus on something that money can never give you.
Whatever your means, you must first seek to do what gives you that feeling of contentment
Contentment is that thing that money can't give you in the long run.
The feeling of fulfillment from achieving whatever goals you set in life. The feeling of spending time with those you love. These things are priceless and it makes sense that more money can't buy them.
So in your quest to earn more money, you must always keep in mind that money is only a means to an end. If you work hard, do it to build a system that can work even when you cut back on your work-time to enjoy your life more.
This way, the money you earn will give you more freedom to live your life on your terms. This is the goal of my life and one that I encourage you to strive for. As always, it is up to you to see if this is what you want. You are the only master of your destiny.