How much money do you need a year to be happy?

Enough for my living expenses and some treats.

1.45900813 million Japanese Yen.
Approximately…

Enough to pay the taxes on my property, buy some grain, malt, hops and copper line.

No amount of money can make me happy unless the people I love are happy and healthy.

It depends where you live and whether or not you have debts and other obligations.

Some people are never happy. I wonder about certain CEOs who pull down more than $200M. I’ll bet if you asked them they would complain that it was not enough.

None, I need a shit load to be comfortable, but I was born happy & by eck…i’ll die happy too, regardless of personal wealth.

I think that I’d be pretty happy with one ton of one ounce gold coins. Today’s spot price for gold is $1576 per troy ounce so one ton equates to $50,432,000.

According to a recent study people are happier with more money up to $75,000 per year.
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While it’s true that money can’t buy happiness, it’s equally true that insufficient resources can make life miserable and put enormous strains on relationships. So many people are one layoff, major illness, or large car repair bill away from poverty, and that’s no way to live.

I’d say that financial stability is certainly a component of happiness. What does it mean to be financially stable? Writing a check without worrying about the bank account’s balance; having enough money to cover large, non-routine expenses without suffering; not struggling and scraping-by until the next payday; having enough savings, in case of a lost job or debilitating illness or injury, to cover about 6 months of living expenses; saving for retirement; except for a principal residence mortgage, being debt-free; being able to afford and pay for a few luxuries.

For my husband and me, that means a minimum of approximately $200K per year. We’re not materialistic, greedy, or self-indulgent. We simply live in an expensive part of the country with big housing costs, and we take care of my sick, elderly (and impoverished) mother.

I am happy when I have enough to help out my family, and save for my old age. Right now, we are barely managing to pay for two houses, three cars and the expenses for the 11 people living in them on my husbands salary, the social security of three of us, and the welfare benefits of three of us. The total extended household income is around $130,000 a year.

I don’t know why so many people (I don’t mean on this Q, I am talking in general) always say money doesn’t buy you happiness and family and health are the most important thing. Money absolutely can buy you some peace of mind, feeling of control over your life, autonomy, and independence. I do agree that health and family are the most important because without health no amount of money can help; unless of course money will help. Buying health care and medicine can cost money. See, that’s the thing, in America money can bring more free time to spend with family, safer living conditions, even better health.

If you have ever lived check to check you know how horribly stressful worrying about money can be. Add $10k more and suddenly most of that worry goes away. It’s a weight off. It probably lengthens your life as that stress is alleviated.

People with more money tend to eat healthier foods whether it be at home or out. When something needs to be fixed you have the option of hiring someone if it seems daunting. Get a maid so you and your spouse don’t argue as much about chores in the house.

There have been several studies showing money does seem to buy happiness to some extent. @Judi linked one I noticed.

If I answer the main question directly though it would be basically the same as @janbb enough for living expenses and some treats, and I would add and some savings. Although, when I am older I won’t care about adding to my savings hopefully. My husband has an expensive hobby, if I don’t include his hobby with $80k net we can be quite happy. We can live on less. We actually spend a little more. His hobby is an average of $15k a year on top, but it is an extravagance.

I don’t know. Happy has always been out of reach.

I need just a little more income than I need to meet all my basic needs and a little more to bring some joy to those I love. That’s not a large amount but at the moment, my income is somewhat less than that. I need enough to be able to own and operate a car so I can see my wife when I want to and so we can drive around and explore – our favorite type of recreation.

My car died and without transportation, life has been isolating and somewhat sad.

I need enough money a year so that I don’t have to live in a back alley, wondering where I’ll get money for a bottle of vodka and a paper bag, presumably free for the latter, to be happy with.