This didn't match my own experience. I spent the last few years being poor, and I felt like I had to be working all the time. If I wasn't doing something that

This didn't match my own experience. I spent the last few years being poor, and I felt like I had to be working all the time. If I wasn't doing something that could potentially bring money in, I felt guilty. Recently, I moved to the DC area and got a salaried job. Even though I've had a 4 hour (total) commute each day, I actually feel like I have more free time and am more relaxed than I did when I was making one third to one fourth as much, mostly because I'm not freaked out about money at all times. That's probably much of the reason that people report being happier: if you've made less than 10K so far in 2008, and don't know when your next check will come in, or from whom, your life is going to be pretty stressful. If you have a steady >50K job, any monetary problems are pretty optional.