Right? Story time: My wife went back to college in her early thirties. During one class, the grad student was trying to get the class to really question thei

Right? Story time: My wife went back to college in her early thirties. During one class, the grad student was trying to get the class to really question their moral certitude. "Would your loved one cheat on you a million dollars?" My wife, however, was positive. When pressed, she said "Oh, he's done the math. I have nothing to worry about for less than 5 million. After that, sure, who knows, but until then...". This was not the answer they expected. The students were horrified and the instructor was confused. To rephrase your point (and the problem): Money can't buy happiness, but it can provide a lot of security against UNHAPPINESS. Depending on where I'm at, security-wise, different money amounts mean different things. Even if I'm very secure in all my personal needs, offer me a billion dollars and there's a lot of options at the top of Maslov's hierarchy. If I recall the math right, I could give a family $10,000/day, every day, for 216 years. Add in the effects of interest (and offset for inflation), and it's probably an infinite ability. That's a lot of soul-soothing. I too have made choices, at far less than the $1billion (or 1 million) level. And.... I'm still torn. I'm glad my current job isn't one I'm ashamed of, but those past jobs provided a lot of security for my wife and I. We have physical and mental health specialists able to attend to our needs. I will disagree with anyone that says money/security is all that matters, but I can't say the choice is easy or clear.