Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

Having read that summary of he study, it doesn't surprise me. 

I thought folks were saying happiness maxed our around say $80 K income a year.

up to about $75,000 a year. The lower a person's annual income falls below that benchmark, the unhappier he or she feels. But no matter how much more than $75,000 people make, they don't report any greater degree of happiness.

While having an income above the magic $75,000 cutoff doesn't seem to have an impact on the former (emotional well-being), it definitely improves people's Robbins-like life satisfaction. In other words, the more people make above $75,000, the more they feel their life is working out on the whole. But it doesn't make them any more jovial in the mornings.

At $75,000, that effect disappears. For people who earn that much or more, individual temperament and life circumstances have much more sway over their lightness of heart than money. The study doesn't say why $75,000 is the benchmark, but "it does seem to me a plausible number at which people would think money is not an issue," says Deaton. At that level, people probably have enough expendable cash to do things that make them feel good, like going out with friends. (The federal poverty level for a family of four, by the way, is $22,050.)

It's a relatively simple point made by the study. 

Money doesn't fix your problems. There are plenty of people making $300K annually who are unhappy. Maybe they feel trapped in a bad marriage. Maybe they hate their job but are doing it because it pays too much and makes them too comfortable to do something else. Maybe they struggle with mental health problems like depression or addiction. Maybe they don't have any real friends and feel that the friends who hang out around them do so because they're more willing and able to pick up checks.  

There are also plenty of happy people making $300K. Maybe they have a secure family life, good connection to their communities, rewarding hobbies, and love their job. 

I'll bet most unhappy $300K income people are not unhappy because they're not making $350K. That additional $50K wouldn't make them happier. I'll bet most of the happy ones at $300K wouldn't be less happy if they were making $250K. 

But under a certain point, lack of money is its own problem. 

The difference between $75K and $150K is whether you can buy a brand-new Toyota Camry or a brand-new BMW 5 series. If you're making $25K, you're probably buying a cheap-ass used car that's going to be unreliable, need constant maintenance, and be a problem. And you probably have crappy credit, so you're paying an interest rate on the loan for that car that is heaps more than the Toyota/BMW buyer. 

So above a certain point, income increases simply buy you more, or nicer, stuff. Below that point, and to a degree proportional to HOW far below that point you are, every drop or gain in income makes a very meaningful difference to whether or not you're surviving. 

So... Money doesn't make you happy. But a lack of money can make you miserable. 

I believe either the same study or another one specifies 2 types of happiness, and one of them does continue above the 75K/yr dollar amount - basically it's continued functional happiness of accomplishments. 
I guess that's the "Robbins-like" happiness.

While the net financial gain of an event that brings you joy may not add to your overall happiness, still experiencing that success does.  So if your company's new gadget has great initial sales, the joy you experience from that is real and additional.  If you move from a VP position to something higher, that job title bump brings you more happiness than the accompanying pay raise. 

I reached a "financial plateau" that was very useful, it was where I didn't have any loans other than on the house.  I had to scrape together a lot of money in the divorce because I wanted to keep the kids in the same house for stability, and that meant I had to buy her half of the equity out.  So, I borrowed, rather heavily, and paid it back quickly because I was able and some of it was at high interest rates.  I paid off the car loan and started putting money into a "car fund" rather than paying on a loan.

I can recall "back in the day", if the car broke down and it cost $500 to fix and I didn't have $500, it went on the credit card and I was in the hole for it.  Then maybe I needed to have the house painted and didn't have the money.  Then something else and I didn't have the money, you get deeper and deeper in a hole and you can't easily get out.  It's very depressing.  I was fortunate in having a good paying job so I could get out of the hole, but if you earn say $50 K a year, it probably seems like another day older and deeper in debt.

I sense a song there somewhere.

You load 16 ton and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt. Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go, I owe my soul to the company store.



https://youtu.be/tfp2O9ADwGk

Money matters to happiness—perhaps more than previously thought | Penn Today (upenn.edu)

so I received the second stimulus check in the mail last week

I never got the first stimulus check

it may have been stolen

I will declare it on my 2020 Tax return 

We are not eligible for those. We contribute to the cause.

Yup I paid in my part, and was happy for those that really needed it and received it.

My sister works for a collection of venues as an event planner and manager.  Well, I should say she used to.  No events to plan or manage right now.  She received the financial stimulus and it helped.

I haven't figured out how to complain about not being eligible for the stimulus without it sounding like a humblebrag. So I generally just shut my mouth when I'm around people talking about their stimulus checks.

You can flaunt your lofty status around here no worries.