The link below is the best article I have read clarifying the age old question.  Will earning more money make me happier?

The article is a bit dense but should not take you more than 15-20 minutes to read it.

This article can be summed up in one sentence.

“We think the message is clear: if you want a satisfying career, once you’re earning above about $40,000 a year, don’t focus on earning more money”

• $40,000 is based on a single persons yearly earnings in the United States.

• Add to $40,000 if you have a family or live in a large and expensive United States city

This means enough for the essentials- basic housing, inexpensive car, food, basic essentials, and a bit of money left over for entertainment.  If you do not reside in the United Sates it may come as a shock that $40,000 USD a year does not provide for a lavish lifestyle. Cost of living in the United States is high compared to most countries in the world

The author says that your career goal should be satisfying these 6 items below rather than increasing your earnings.

Here are the key ingredients of a dream job:

• Work that helps others

• Engaging work that lets you enter a state of flow

• Supportive colleagues

• A job that meets your basic needs, like fair pay and reasonable hours

• A job that fits your personal life

*Most importantly, focus on getting good at something that helps others”

I am in basic agreement with the author concerning these 6 items.

At the end of the day how much money you wish to earn is a personal choice.  You will choose to develop an “Important Skill”. You will become an “Expert” at this “Important Skill”.  This means you are in demand and can typically command a large salary. A salary significantly higher than $40,000 a year.

Household Budget

It is important for you to understand your lifestyle given “Master List Of Careers & Goals You Love” career earnings.  Below will take you through the process of determining your budget

Link To Household Budget Spreadsheet

• Click  on the above link. A pop up may appear when clicking link.  If so, just continue on to budget spreadsheet

• Fill out your current and/or anticipated budget.  Doing both would be a good exercise

• See above.  This O*NET webpage allows you do an “occupation search” for any career.  You will notice that once you open up the “Summary Report” for a specific career there will be a tab listed “wages and employment”.  (Note-  You should have already done this exercise for all your careers contained in your “Master List Of Careers & Goals You Love”)

• Tax Calculator –  Go to this link and enter the “wages” from your chosen career.  This will supply estimated tax liability for USA residents

• You can add or subtract expense rows

• You can calculate based on monthly or yearly budget

• You can download this spreadsheet to your desktop

• After you download spreadsheet to desktop click OK.  This will expand the spreadsheet and make it full size.

QUESTIONS: 

*This is the “Earning To Give Concept” we discussed in a previous module labeled “$3000 USD IS PROVEN TO SAVE THE LIFE OF 1 CHILD”