I can't say they are not important to me, but I can definitely see that importance, or rather pleasure from earning more than certain amount flattens out for me

I can't say they are not important to me, but I can definitely see that importance, or rather pleasure from earning more than certain amount flattens out for me rather quickly. Very much like in this paper [1]. A bit of a personal story. When I just moved to Australia from Russia, there was a sudden and pleasant change in both levels of income and quality of life. I started with mere $50k salary (2006) that I managed to double ($115k) in a couple of years (2008). This second change probably didn't feel as great as the first one, although it registered as kind of being nice. Fast forward to 2012 and $140k of income - I honestly couldn't care less. Although it wasn't linear increase in after-tax money, yet still it was rather significant. Did it feel good? Barely. I have a blog post [2] that somewhat touches on that. What's more important for me now? Being owner of my time and how I spend it. Money? Important, but only up to certain limit. Hope it answers your question. Thanks! [1] http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/if-money-doesnt-make-you-happy-consider-time http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/if-money-doesnt-make-you-happy-c... [2] http://blog.nimblegecko.com/why-i-quit-my-job/ http://blog.nimblegecko.com/why-i-quit-my-job/