Happy as poor?

what is the least amount of income you could live off of and still be happy you think?

I could live just fine, as I do now in fact, with just $24,000 a year

Depends on where you want to live, family size, etc.

Just me as one person? I'd probably be pretty comfortable at just $35k a year. Absolutely NO WAY to do that having a family in a good school district.

I couldn't exist with only 24k a year, that's for sure. My house alone costs me a lot more than that a year. I could reduce my spendings to like 60k a year. Going lower would require me to move to a cheaper (and smaller / uglier) place which certainly has an affect

I'm not sure at which point I'm still "happy" as this is more like a stat with a big range. Every step of money that gets lost has some affect. I'm happier if I can say at any point "I'm going to do some wellness with my wife" than thinking about how to pay a flat. It's nicer to buy groceries without looking at the prices than to think about what pasta to buy. Can I do it? Sure. Will I stay somewhat happy? Certainly. Will I be as happy as now? No, not at all.

I want to make enough money to be able to retire one day so making as little as possible isn't the direction I want to head. Frankly I would always have a knot in my stomach about one day not having the ability to work anymore and also not having the money to support myself.

good life advice.

unless one completely adores what they do for a living, then make as much as possible, save and invest!

I'm just a simple man, I don't want to be filthy rich, I just want a simple income to pay the house bills, cars, and supporting my family. As long as my job meets the recommend income to get by, I'm totally cool what I'm earning. Money doesn't buy you happiness after all, just enjoy life :)

its somewhat ironic how it works out.

the less you feel you need to freer you start to feel.

you say you 'could not exist with 24k a year' even though I am not only doing it I am enjoying my life for it. Now to be fair, I make more than 3 times that and that alone gives a strong sense of security but that aside, even at just 24k I am still able to do all the things i want to do.

I live in an RV :)

I could live in a small house by myself, but not an RV. Definitely not for me.

If I made that much I'd still be paying half my income to rent. I guess it's better than what I make now, but that still puts me in a crunch.

I think I can be relatively content with what I make now, but not exactly happy. I'd say if I lived in a bit of a nicer apartment and only had to pay ~30 percent of my income I'd be happy, which would make my income about fifty grand. That seems about right.

I'm not a fan of big houses, I'm considering moving to a nice Condo sometimes next year. RV? Hell no!!!

lived in condos for 12 years.

turned a profit on each one I lived in as well. I went for older condos, new ones are often silly in prices

Well I can't exist the way I live now. I would need to move out of my house for example. Of course I could do that if I had to. And I certainly would find ways to enjoy my life.

However, I still think having more than enough money makes enjoying life a lot easier as it gives you, as you said, security and also much more options. Like a lot of people don't have enough money to travel to other countries which is something I enjoy a lot. So yeah, I woudln't be able to "do all the things i want to do" with "only 24k".

Living in a RV would be a nightmare for me xD

I want enough money to be independent. That’s it. To have my own apartment, PC, gaming. A few hobbies. I’m starting a $30k (pharmacy tech) job at 40, have not one cent saved for retirement or invested in anything, and doubt my health will afford me all too many future years anyway. I sacrificed my 20s and 30s to fight for it, apathy is largely what remains with a strong desire for hedonistic indulgement to make up for lost time.

Frankly, I’d rather die relatively young. I fight both physical and mental (Bipolar II) health problems, and am tired of it. I just want a job so I can pursue skydiving. I love it, and if something should happen, I’ll die doing what I love. If I can get enough money to do that and not have to live with the folks, I’ll be set.

Maybe 60k.

That's pretty poor in California.

yeah to be fair where a person lives makes a HUGE difference in my equation.

average rent where I am living at is $570 for a single bedroom, in San Fran I think its $2500 or something

@davillain-: Well said. I have basically the same standard. I don't have a girlfriend or any children,but my needs are simple. Enough to live on and I'm satisfied.

I was making about 24k in an expensive part of California. It was not fun.

I made alcohol during that phase of my life, luckily, and I just drank my sorrows away.

If I could not retire by age 60 and had to work still, I would probably just kill myself.

Yeah my material needs are pretty low; food, and video games. A few hundred dollars every so often for a PC upgrade and that's about it, really. I'm saving a lot of money now that I have a better job. Putting a total of 16% of my income into my Roth IRA, plus some stock investments on the side.

@mrbojangles25: Geez, what did you eat? Top Ramen all day?

@MirkoS77: Pharmacy tech as in technician? It's what I do as well, but in my shithole of a country I make about $7K a year (5K after tax) with a chance for max 30% increase. But without kids and not having to pay rent I can manage. Wouldn't call me unhappy.

I have to laugh looking at numbers like $60K. I still remember a few years ago when I was still in Portugal making $5.5K a year as a 40 hours a week physiotherapist. How stuff changes from country to country.

So there is this story of a woman who escaped North Korea around the time of the big famine there. She told about a third of the people around her dying of starvation IIRC. She told about the public executions that people were forced to watch age 12 and up.

This point in the interview stuck with me:
"Would you say North Koreans are pretty stressed out in general, or are they happy with what they have got? How happy are they?"
"In my opinion, even if people are starving and having a tough time, they are always laughing."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, all the time."
"They really laugh a lot?"
"Yeah a lot. I think, the more well off a country, the more stressed the people because they think too much. North Korea may be a poor country but North Koreans have more warmth and really care for one another. I think they are generally very happy."

Isn't that a weird thing to listen to? So you can gather from that, if it were applicable to all societies, that poverty might make for nice or happy people. I personally take from that, that people need to be happy and nice in order to cope with the situation. But both those ideas seem to imply that being in (or starting out in?) a poor or bad or oppressive society/situation may result in a positive attitude. I don't really know what to make of it, because being poor or being born in North Korea would be the opposite of my desires. What would you derive from that?

I think it's a conundrum.

@KungfuKitten: I think that's fairly accurate. As a child I never knew if I'd get to eat that day or if the running water and electricity were going to last. On the other hand one of the things that made me the happiest was that I could still go to school and to me that was an immense luxury.

A day where I could go to school, have a meal, a shower and not have to do homework by candlelight was jackpot...would make me happy for a week!

@korvus: I believe it may be accurate as well... but what does that mean? Does that really mean that we are better off being worse off because as a result we live a happier life? It just seems so unintuitive.

I mean, I doubt that the people who got out of North Korea would willingly go back even if that was an option. So it seems like the things we want and the things that make us happy more or less corrolate. But that the situation we want to live in and the situation that makes us happy are almost the opposite.

@KungfuKitten: I think you don't have to STAY poor as long as you experience difficulties somewhere along the way for a semi-long amount of time. I doubt kids who grew up with consoles, high tech toys and trips to Disneyland ever stop to think how grateful they are that they can just flip their room's light switch and it actually turns on...heck, I doubt they'll ever think "I'm so grateful to have a room".

Of course you can still be happy without having been homeless but the lower your lowest point was, the less you need in order to feel like you're way above it. Let's not forget that there are teenagers out there to whom their lowest point was getting the wrong colour car for their 16th birthday...how much do you think they need to be happy? Definitely more than a place to live.

But bad living conditions have a way of staying in your mind; just this morning I was thinking "How great is it that I can have a hot shower in a cold day?"....I'm 33, have my own company and I haven't had to take a cold shower in my house for the last 15 years...but I still remember them and I'm still grateful I'm not at that stage of my life.

@korvus: Yes that could be it. It would explain why people can be very happy while they live in a bad situation (happier than normal people in a good situation) yet when leaving that situation for something better they don't want to go back to that old situation.

Well in that case... I've been through some bad things so I guess I'm set for a happy life :)

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At the moment I make do with about 11,000 euro net per year. I think my dad earns about 48,000 net per year (the higher echelons of Dupont salaries) but I've never really asked. He is an estimator/project lead/project control lead/automation, instrumentation engineer/technical designer/teacher active in USA/Netherlands/Germany/France/China/etc. He designed/estimated/maintained and helped construct and convert chemical plants and stuff.

Through him I actually got to know a few American people. :)

@KungfuKitten: Exactly. As fond as I was of being able to eat once a day and go to school I don't really want to live like that again if I can help it :p But when I'm complaining about my life while going out for dinner, or buying games, or going shopping without looking at price tags I remind myself to shut the hell up and enjoy what I have.

not much point in putting an exact figure on it as where one lives has a big effect on it.

but for me i like a life of simplicity. if im earning enough to spend on a hobby, save a few hundred quid a month and cover the bills then im generally happy. building up a rainy day fun also bring some nice peace of mind.

i have no desire for really expensive things (except maybe the occasional very powerful PC/laptop but we are talking once every 4-5 years). i dont travel..no interest really. i dont have a car as having one wouldnt be worth it for me (and the expense of running a car in ireland is nasty) so i use public transport and my own 2 legs mostly. i have no interest in having a family. so my expenses are not very high.

so i dont need much. i used to earn more but it was in jobs that didnt really suit me so i chucked it in and took a pay cut for something more suitable.

I live in a pretty expensive city. to maintain my current life-style, I'd probably need at least $45-50k a year.

I could probably cut some costs back, move into somewhere cheaper and still be happy though, so I'll say $40k assuming I want to keep living independently where I do

to use your Disneyland example which I have been to.

Some of the most fun I have had has been riding a bicycle with some friends in a the downtown of a major city while it was nearly empty

I have been to Disneyland, its fun, but honestly I would rather just have a good nap while its raining outside.

@tryit: I wasn't referring to what's more fun...I'm referring to you wanting something and actually being able to get it. For me being able to go to Disneyland was as feasible as growing wings; that was my point :)

I was trying to illustrate that going to Disneyland and things like it is highly over rated anyway.

as a side note

Haven't been yet but I'm sure I'll end up there eventually :p I do enjoy going to the one (not Disney related) here in the Netherlands though :)

Not counting my current employment, I make $40k+/year on my pension and (service-related) disability. Basically, I make that much sitting on my ass and twiddling my thumbs.

If I was single, that would be more than enough for an apartment plus all the bills, car, gaming habits, and then some.

If I was single which I'm not...... The wife says I need to work. ;)

Depends completely on the cost of living in your area. I mean if you live in a place where the cheapest rent is over $2000 then that changes everything. So long as I can pay all my bills. Drive a brand new vehicle every 10 years at the least and have money to buy what I want for my hobbies then I have a tickled pickle.

Now if your married then that triples at the minimal. Remember kids, prostitutes are cheaper and more fun.

@tryit: I was actually happier when I made about 20k a year.

lol

I am officially living in poverty on benefit. But money doesn't interest me and I found the more you have, the more it just disappears anyway. You have to be very careful not to spend it on things like pointless subscriptions and fast food etc. When I've been in jobs which were unrewarding I felt like my life was being completely wasted.

I even darn my socks now and saving money is my new obsession.

I even invented a tool for breaking up pallets which I make into things so you don't really need to spend that much money... Unless you have kids and mortgage and need to travel to work.

wwww

Best do what you can to get out of that situation. When you're 70-80 you're going to need enough money for medical care and (probably) physical care as well to have any sort of decent quality of life. Maybe you can sell that tool you made to people who need it or something to gain more income.

@Serraph105: I have turned to inventing things in fact and I was thinking about that...