How much money would you need to be satisfied?

Putting a precise dollar amount on it, I would be pretty content if I made in the low 100–200k/year range. Obviously I would love to have more money (who wouldn’t?) but that would be enough to satisfy most (if not all) of my dreams and needs.

Just enough to pay the bills, buy my groceries, and get around. I don’t need money to be happy in life, I just need enough to not be poor and struggling :P

My dream is basically to travel the world to all the places I want to see, have a nice house that’s big enough to host big get together for family and friends. Similar to what my sisters have (entertainment rooms, movie rooms) but a bit bigger. I would like to be able to afford the Lexus IS350 with no worries, pay bills with no worries, afford kids, have fun. I don’t think I wish for much as most people would. All the extras would be nice but it’s just extra. For example, if I could travel without worrying about money I’d be fine…I don’t need my own private jet or yacht lol.

I suppose I could travel the world if I really wanted to NOW since someone I know is doing it. I don’t know how much money she has to be able to afford to not work but she tells me she searches for the lowest airfares and stays in cheap hotels/hostels lol.

40 billion euros per annum would satisfy my needs ;)

Enough to not have to think about it, ever. But then, money isn’t happiness.

@chelle21689 Once you get the initial airfare out of the way (and even that can be mitigated if you’re flexible) travel can be surprisingly cheap depending on where you’re willing to go and the level of comfort you’re prepared to accept.

This will probably sound stupid but I remember this commercial for the California State lottery. This guy was going through the grocery store’s gourmet aisle and said, “And suddenly I realized. I could afford to buy all this cheese.” I think it would be cool to be able to just pick up the fancy expensive cheese in the grocery store whenever I wanted some without thinking about it.

I’d also like it if I saw an interesting looking but most likely expensive restaurant while I driving around we could just pop in and say ‘Yeah, it was a little pricey, but worth the experience!’

No amount of money would satisfy me.

$150,000 per annum would be more than enough and still leave enough to give to charities I support.

Enough to cover expenses and still put some aside. I just need a little financial security, nothing fancy.

I have no clue. I’m sure I could do with less. I’m sure I could do with more. Money makes things easier, but satisfaction is psychological. I could learn to be satisfied at many different money amounts, if I had to.

I have enough money right now. Not enough to retire, but enough to buy and do everything I want. That is pretty cool.

I’m quite satisfied with what I have at the moment. I don’t have a car but then I don’t need one. When I did have one it was more of a nuisance than anything else. A lot of the things we think we want can become that. Better to slim down.

Precisely what i’ve got, my life & everything that surrounds it is perfectly satisfactory, finances, although comforting, are way down on the pecking order when it comes to my own personal happiness.

I just thought of another thing I’d like for money, though this would be a LOT more money than we have now. I’ve friends all over the country – and a few outside the country – that I’d love to just pop over and see whenever I felt like it.

I have a few friends who are producing plays in San Francisco, and I’d love to just hop on a plane and catch a few shows and hang out with them on a weekend. Then I could stop over southern California and hang out with some relatives. I’d love to just meet random friends I’ve met on Fluther or Askville for the heck of it.

Oh and I’d also like to afford the VIG (Very Important Gamer) pass at GenCon. It’s way too expensive for what you get, but basically you never have to wait in line and you have special passes to hang out in a lounge with tons of food and a nice quiet vibe when you are hungry or want to get away from the crowds. There are tons of other benefits, but I’d just like the lounge and no waiting.

It kind of saddens me when I see people say things like this lol “No amount of money can satisfy me” if they mean they’d always want more.

Keobooks that’d be so awesome but highly unlikely for most =\

Satsified? Satisfied and ideal are different to me.

It’s hard to answer. I, like @wundayatta, could do with less or more. I could easily live in a smaller house and have one car less, and I already don’t spend much, so maybe less money would cut into my current amount I save during the year. If I had more I would save more and maybe be a less price conscious. As I have earned more over the years, I am less worried about every penny spent, and I like enjoying things of higher quality, clothes, shoes, hotels, but I still care about the value of what I purchase, and I think I still watch my money more than the average person.

Overall, I am satisifed, but another $2 million would make a huge difference, because I would take a risk on a business for my husband and me. Maybe just $1 million would be enough for the risk?

I think if I had $3 million in the bank, aside from this fantasy business I mentioned, but just $3 million and everything else stayed the same, my husband’s current job etc., then I would feel very safe for the future. Feeling secure and safe helps me feel satisifed. More is better of course, but I figure you are asking about minimums.

I can’t see ever having the extra $2 -$3 million unless I win a lottery.

I am perfectly fine with what I earn except I have to pay spousal support to the ex, which is a huge percentage of my take home.

The ‘drop dead” amount I’ve had in mind to let me do whatever I want is $15 million after taxes. I could take care of the family, buy a house here and condos in a few places I like to go to, and pay airfare to travel. I don’t want a lot of toys, just a few cars that are handy and useful. Don’t need an Escalade, (they are junk anyway), just a jeep for the snow and a Honda Accord for around town.

I am satisfied, but speak only for myself.

During the course of my working years, I was a conservative spender and saver. And as I age, all those things I used to covet seem to be only dust collectors.

And luckily, no one in the immediate family is a spendthrift.

I llive in an area where displaying is considered vulgar. One of the busiest businesses is the second-hand rose shop..

When most of my cotton t-shirts all have permanent food stains down the front, I convert them into rags and buy ten new ones for $20. The money the store takes in is used to help fund our local performing arts center where we can sit on the lawn and watch dance, theater and movies.

@chelle21689 No, I meant it quite literally. I don’t find my satisfaction in money – so there is no amount that would provide me satisfaction.

@GoldieAV16 : A nice attitude, of course, but you do (as we all do) have some minimum daily requirements for survival beyond a nasty, brutish and short life, surely?

Really, I am fairly satisfied with what I have now. I do like to daydream about what I’d do with just a little bit more.

I remember listening to public radio and hearing about this woman in Central Africa who made a living buying a large bottle of cooking oil and selling small servings of it to other women in her village who couldn’t afford to buy a single bottle of cooking oil themselves. I felt kind of guilty wishing for money after that. I can’t imagine that level of poverty.

I can live very well on less than 40k and want for nothing. I have lived on 37–38k a year the last 7 years now with no hardship and pretty much buyng and doing whatever I want.
I have a small home on property, drive an older car and am not status conscious at all.

I enjoy good food, some travel, and working part time. Sure, I like decorating my home and looking nice as a woman, but, I do not need all the latest and greatest to be happy.
I have always been a ” time over money” type, and I have zero desire to work full time at a stressful job just for the extra income.

You CAN live VERY well for much less than most people believe is possible.

@gailcalled Attitudes are cultivated, and it’s one that I work on, but would never pretend to have perfected.

Anything into six figures I spend more energy worrying what I ought to do with it than I do thinking I could use more. I’d be the world’s worst billionaire.

A good steady income is enough for me. My husband recently entered the six figure range, and that helps us support the many family members who out of work.

I think the $70k-100k range, once I have a few kids. Right now I am just fine.

I’ve never cared enough about money to earn enough. I’ve always wanted enough to pay my bills. I still want enough to pay my bills, but I’m learning to keep my bills as low as possible. The two are still not meeting.

So I want enough to buy my dream home and acreage outright. Enough to pay the landscaper for the implementation of the first design. Enough to do it again when I realize what I want to change. Enough to fly to all the great places with great designs in furniture and furnishings. Enough to have it all shipped to my dream home. Enough to employ the housekeeper and the steward and the animal people and the gardeners and the personal trainer and the, and the…

Enough to buy all the Jimmy Choos I want! However much that is.

^^^And enough left over for the podiatrist.

Any amount would not be enough, because expectations rise with one’s income. Just hope for the ability to maintain a reasonable quality of life and to perform one’s duties to the job, community, neighbours and family – and try to leave the rest to God.

I changed my mind. I want this rich and I’ll be satisfied.

For my particular circumstances, married, no kids, no debts, no expensive bad habits- I’d have a comfy lifestyle if I netted $100k a year, USD.

I wish that I could recall who said it, but I read something on this very topic several months ago. It was from one middle-class wage-earner to another, and the gist of it was:

“You and I have something that the super-rich will never have.”

“What’s that?”

“Enough.”

As long as you are feeding yourself and your family that should be enough. All the other stuff is worthless.

So far I can look after myself, I got enough to live. Not very much, sometimes I’m short, but I manage. A little cushion, say of about in the early thousands would be nice to rely on though, if shit hit the fan.

I make about 35k a year, and I could live like this forever. I can pay my bills, save money, and do fun stuff. Anthing extra is just me wanting a faster car, which I don’t need because my Accord gets me enough tickets.

I don’t think that’s the correct question, really, at least in part because working towards a goal adds to the enjoyment of it. Satisfaction comes from people, accomplishments, and things, all of which are merely tied to money.

I’d like to earn enough to support a family (thus permitting my future wife the option of not working) in a suitable house in a good neighborhood, without having to sweat over bills, and enough left over each year to put some in savings and go on vacation. That’s probably in the six-figure range.

£40,000 a year would be nicely comfortable where I live. But with my limited skills and education, I don’t have a hope.

Currently between us my partner and I have a combined income of about £35,000. It’s not a lot, and we can’t afford luxuries, lavish holidays or to pay into a savings plan, but we have enough to pay the bills without getting into debt, plus a little extra for leisure and entertainment.

I see some people answered in salaries. We basically live on about $90k net (we actually earn more than that) and I am more than happy with it, as I said we could go down and still be fine. We could easily go down to $75k and give up big extras we enjoy, and still have our day to day about the same. Probably as low as $50k we would have all the necessities, not be panicked about money, but would have very little being saved and no vacations or extra hobbies (my husband’s hobby is very expensive, he races cars) like we do today.