3 ms·
Maybe so, but it really is demonstrably true that there's a huge law of diminishing returns there. Once you earn a reasonable amount of money (the figure I saw
by lemming 15y ago
Maybe so, but it really is demonstrably true that there's a huge law of diminishing returns there. Once you earn a reasonable amount of money (the figure I saw for the US was around 50k, probably depreciated by now and obviously location-dependent) there is absolutely no correlation between making more money and happiness. The main take-away is that it probably requires a lot less than you think.
For this and many other interesting musings on the nature of happiness I strongly recommend "Stumbling on Happiness" by Daniel Gilbert. It's fascinating.
- corin_ 15y agoThere's a big difference between "once you have a home and food" and "once you have 50k/yr", though.
- lemming 15y agoAbsolutely. A lot of people don't plan to stop at 50k/yr either, though - the OP's main point is that from a happiness optimisation POV after that point (or maybe earlier) their energy would be better spent elsewhere. And your expensive shoes example person is probably making more than 50k.