Right. I thought I was rolling in dough in my first job out of college, and that was less than $40k/year. But part of it is that, before that point, I was living on quite a lot less, and having trouble paying for things like vital dental work.

Which actually was the point of the studies -- going from $15k/year to $25k/year can make people happier, because they can pay for more necessities of life, but going from, oh, $50k/year to $80k/year doesn't, statistically speaking, make people happier. Not that everyone below $40k/year is miserable, but that past that point, more money won't increase happiness.

I think I did not explain that well in the original post.