The answer to the question of how much money you want to make always seems to be “more” Realistically, how much would you have to make to feel content?
Productivity blog Lifehack suggests considering just how much money you really want or need to make (among several other factors) before you choose a job or career:
The overall idea here is to pick a lifestyle, not a job title. Keep in mind that this, too, will change as you grow into your career and potentially have a family. For the best results, set monetary goals in increments of 5 years, and check these goals against your chosen path.
Some studies have shown that around $80,000 per year is the plateau at which day-to-day happiness doesn’t increase, but is this enough to achieve your overall goals? How much money do you think you would have to make to accomplish everything you want to accomplish? More importantly, how does that affect your career decisions? Or — if that question seems too personal — are you content with where you are, or do you feel like you need to make more?
5 Questions You Must Ask Yourself Before Choosing a Career [Lifehack]
Picture: epSos.de/Flickr
Comments
5 responses to “What’s Your Ideal Salary?”
If I recall my undergrad philosophy lecturer correctly, and apologies for the lack of sourcing, a study was done in the US where people were asked how much money they needed to earn in order to be happy. The majority, some 90% of participants, said if only they earned another 20% of their current income they would be much happier. Whether they were then earning $30,000 or $1m p.a, they thought they’d be happy if they just had another 20%.
It’s not an absolute number like $80k or $200k. People will be content with a relative number like ‘more than all my friends’ or ‘ more than the 99%’. I often hear people say things like ‘I wish I had $20million’ then the question I ask is ‘What if everyone in the entire world were billionaires and you only had $20m? You will be the poorest person on earth. Do you still only want $20m?’.
I want to be able to buy a pony.
Did you ask Kram nicely?……
Short answer – $90k
It doesn’t matter because what ever you earn generally your lifestyle changes to consume your income. You will always end up at the same point but you just might have more stuff (if you are on the minimum wage, more stuff might mean you actually can afford food).