Are you happy? According to a Nobel winner...

[IndependentlyPoor]

Living on a sailboat jolted us out of the fancy yuppy threads lifestyle. We took to the boat bum lifestyle (and way of dressing) like bears to honey, and have never looked back.

The surprising thing is how little difference it has made. Sure, occasionally we get the bum's rush, but not much more often than before. (Every now and then some maitre d' is going to decide that he/she doesn't like the way you look, no matter how you are dressed.)

Part of this might be that we live in Austin, a town full of millionaire high tech geeks dressed every bit as badly as we are. Hospitality and sales folks probably have learned to place little weight on appearances.

Seems like a smile and a pleasant word still work, even when wearing jeans and a tee-shirt.

 

[HFWR]

Much like the old farmer joke, wherein the yuppie driving the $100k Euro car gets stuck in the ditch. He knocks on the farmhouse door, and inquires if the farmer could maybe use his tractor to pull him out. All the while, he's telling the farmer to please be careful not to damage his "$100k car". So the farmer jumps back on his tractor, and leaves, telling the yuppie he doesn't want to damage his $200k tractor...

 

[unclemick]

Hard core cheap SOB in early ER, 1993 and gradually drifted up spending wise with time and Mr Market.

Ho hum suburbanite now (except retired) but I do get periodic thoughts - joy of fugal and all that.

heh heh heh - we had several 'how frugal can you get' threads in the early days of this forum.

 

[Khan]

Hard core cheap SOB in early ER, 1993 and gradually drifted up spending wise with time and Mr Market.

Ho hum suburbanite now (except retired) but I do get periodic thoughts - joy of fugal and all that.

heh heh heh - we had several 'how frugal can you get' threads in the early days of this forum.

I am still exceeding frugal. Spend ~$25K per year. Tend to give away the excess.
BTW: Don't ask for money

 

[scrabbler1]

I'm happier at 30K retired than I was at $75K working.

Same here. I was happier at $50k working P/T than I was at $75k F/T. Then, I was happier at $30k working a lesser P/T than I was at $50k P/T.

Finally, I am happiest at $30k retired than I was at $30k (lesser) P/T. I just took the scenic route to get there!

 

[kcowan]

Yes, advertising such as TV tries to work on our psyche and believe we aren't happy until we get their product. For some things it works, for others it doesn't. For me, just one walk down the laundry detergent isle and noticing all the dizzying brands out there is nearly crazy. I'm happy just to get the value brand.

We are happy not not purchase anything at all.

Since the 60k mark is an average, the salient compairison would be to take the average income for where you live and multiply that by 1.2 to arrive at the comfort level point needed for the max happiness level. This isn't the only happiness survey to conclude happiness requires a comfortable margin but having far more than the average income level does not give more happiness.

There is probably also a function that those who achieve a 20% over the avg income for where they live also have an emotional governance to be happy with enough and not always have grasp to for more and more. An ability to be able to reach satisfaction has to enter into it.

In our neighborhood in West Vancouver, there are corporate types in $6 million homes that have all the brands, and then there are retirees in their 80s who have to make do. This creates an interesting mix of shops and restaurants where you are welcome no matter what.

I think you are right. Income, clothing, cars and homes do affect how we are perceived by others (and how we perceive others). But I think that many people on this board really don't care how they are perceived by others. Attitude, I think, is the key. That's why we have so many people living happily on what might otherwise be considered a middle class income. Maybe we are wired differently.

I don't really know how people perceive DW and me. Our careers are not considered lucrative or prestigious, we drive low key Japanese cars, our house is in a middle class neighborhood, etc... Just looking at how we live, there is no way any one could guess we are comfortably in the top tax bracket (we live on only 17% of our gross income, the rest goes to taxes and Vanguard and remains unseen from the public). For all intended purposes, we look squarely middle class. It doesn't bother us at all. When people that I perceive as "rich" invite us for a cocktail party at their 5,000 sq. ft. house with pool, I feel no shame parking my Toyota in their driveway and sporting my well-cut Banana Republic suit in the middle of a sea of Armani suits. And I feel no shame hosting a dinner party for those "rich" people in my "humble adobe" either. ...

Yes I think if you have the right attitude, people will accept you no matter what you wear and drive. Many people drive 10yo cars and older but have a comfortable income around here.

My wife and I, combined, get, after taxes, around 80.000 euros/year, with adjustment to the cost of living index. No family charges. What would our lifestyle in the USA be like?
Don´t worry, we aren´t about to impose ourselves on you all! If we were younger....
It´s yet another of my absurd questions.....

We have earnings in the same league but do not spend nearly all of it. Part of that is that we spend half the year in Mexico where costs are about 30% to 50% of what they are in Vancouver Canada.

We are still groping our way in this split life but it seems to be working out cheaper than just staying in Vancouver all year. Part of that is that we rent out our Vancouver place for the winter.

 

[oilspill]

I'm happier at 30K retired than I was at $75K working.

Would've been nicer if you'd found a way to be 75k retired.

 

[vicente solano]

I, too am much happier at 54.000 euros ERed than at 65.000 working. Though I am more bored.