0
0
Happiness income describes the value above which earning more does not make you happier.
Money alone does not make you happy, but it does help. An analysis now shows the exact happiness income. Austria is in the upper range.
Does money make you happy? And if so, how much? Several studies have been devoted to precisely this question. Based on this, the experts at the online exchange “S Money” have calculated the so-called happiness income for (almost) all countries, including Austria.
This value is strictly at the tipping point or saturation point, where you no longer have to worry about rent, unforeseen expenses, and other things in the respective country. Once the most important needs have been covered, earning even more money hardly brings any more salvation.
The results show a serious disparity. The front-runner is Iran. To be truly happy in the mullah regime, you need an annual income of around 223,300 euros, writes “Focus.” This is a pure utopia for most of the inhabitants there; their happiness is bought at the highest price in the world—also due to the extreme inflation that has plagued the country since 2018.
In stark contrast, the happiness income in Sierra Leone is just over 8,000 euros a year. Most people in this West African country live in poverty, with two-thirds having less than one euro a day at their disposal.
There are also stark contrasts in Europe, particularly between the two sides of the former Iron Curtain. Norway leads the way on our continent, where an annual income of around 112,000 euros is required for maximum monetary happiness. The other Nordic countries are also high in the rankings: Iceland 106,000 euros, Denmark 92,000 euros, Finland 89,000 euros, and Sweden 83,000 euros.
Switzerland (107,000 euros) and Luxembourg (93,000 euros) lead the way in Central Europe. With a happiness income of just under 82,000 euros, Austria is almost on a par with Sweden, lying between Belgium (81,000 euros) and the Netherlands (83,000 euros). In our neighbor Germany, on the other hand, the threshold is around 78,000 euros.
The situation is quite different in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc. In Hungary, for example, 20,000 euros is enough to be carefree and happy. The situation is similar in Croatia (22,000 euros), Bulgaria and Poland (20,000 euros), Romania (20,000 euros), and Serbia (19,000 euros). Slovenia and the Czech Republic (28,000 euros) and Slovakia (25,000 euros) are comparatively expensive.
Even further east, there is a clear divergence. While the happiness income in the Baltic states is between 25,000 euros (Lithuania) and 30,000 euros (Estonia), Belarus and Ukraine are almost at the bottom of the ranking. Here, the threshold was calculated at 15,900 euros and 15,800 euros. In Europe, they are only undercut by North Macedonia. At 15,500 euros, the Balkan country is at the bottom of the list.
“Despite our findings, it may not be the wisest idea to simply pull up stakes and move to a place where happiness is cheap,” concludes ‘S Money’ founder Justin Rampono, drawing a thought-provoking conclusion.
He also quotes Harvard researcher Marc Schulz: “Money can’t buy happiness, but it is a tool that can give us security and a sense of control over our lives. At the end of the day, life is about our relationships with others. It’s our relationships that make us happy”.
Schulz also reminds us that we shouldn’t toil all day to achieve happiness: “Much of our waking life is spent at work, and if you believe that relationships make for a good life, then you need to think about your relationships at work. Those relationships are important to your well-being because you spend so much time with [those people].”
“Perhaps,” adds Rampono, ”happiness depends not so much on how you spend your money but on who you earn and spend it with.”
- source: heute.at/picture: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
This post has already been read 9209 times!
