How much do I need to earn to live a satisfied life? This is a question people ask themselves more and more often as they get older, when they are looking for a meaningful, fulfilling life. We know only too well that this is not done by earning as much as possible for decades in order to eventually put our feet up. Almost everyone knows someone as a cautionary tale, who always worked hard, never missed an hour of overtime, neglected friends and family, and died before retirement without being able to enjoy the wealth he had saved up. "I don't want that to happen to me. I'm living today and I want to get something out of it, too," is the motto of many professionals. But how much do you need to live a financially stress-free life?
The perfect salary is 67,000 euros a year
U.S. economist and Nobel laureate Angus Deaton, who researches wealth and happiness, determined that an annual salary of the equivalent of about 67,000 euros is the perfect income for a family. What lies above, an average household does not need to increase personal happiness. Those who reach the magic sum assess their lives more positively, enjoy their quality of life and don't have to be afraid of not being able to pay bills. Once basic material needs are met, other things come into play to raise happiness levels. It's not so much what you own, but what you do with it that matters. Travel, excursions, going out to dinner with friends or family – at some point, this brings more satisfaction than material things.
The salary is and remains a proof of success
However, the salary still remains important as a proof of success. We notice this above all when we compare ourselves – and this is what people tend to do – with others. Imagine someone gives you 20 euros as a gift. Just like that. Okay, thank you very much, you would probably say. If you then learn that the donor has given everyone else 50 euros, your own 20 euros immediately lose their value.
Salary: The main thing is more than my neighbor
It is no different with the salary. In a survey conducted at Harvard University, researchers asked students whether they would prefer to earn $50,000 a year if everyone else around them only had a 25.000 get. Or whether they are happy with 100.000 want to live between neighbors who have 250.Earn 000. Most people actually prefer to have less for themselves, but more than their neighbors. So it's the feeling of being more successful than others that ultimately drives more than the desire to spend money. Those who free themselves from this can be satisfied with an income of 60,000 euros and enjoy a bit of luxury such as restaurant visits, travel, a nice home and good clothes with a clear conscience. What comes into the coffers beyond that doesn't significantly increase happiness anymore. At worst, things even go downhill if the extra earnings also come with more unpleasant work, hassles, or happiness-killing tasks.
Pay rise: those who have less are happier
However, if that's not the case, but making money puts people in a flow state, there's still a lot of room for improvement. After all, a bank balance in the millions does not make you unhappy at all. Having a lot of money makes life easier in many ways – and therefore makes you happy. Those who don't have that much can at least take comfort: with less than 1,200 euros a month, a salary increase of 100 euros has three times more of an impact in terms of happiness than with more than 1,200 euros.