A personalised plan vital when goalposts keep shifting

There's a pattern to how most people answer this question: How much is enough? Enough never seems to be where we are; rather, it's always just beyond the horizon.

- Matthew Matthee

What do I mean?

The Wall Street Journal recently ran a survey asking people how much they need to be happy. The interesting part was that respondents were asked both their current salary and what salary they thought would make them content.

Most people said they needed a significant increase to reach their ideal standard of living.

For instance, those earning $50 000 (about R875 000) a year believed they needed $975 000 to feel comfortable.

Similarly, people earning $100 000 wanted $150 000, and those at $150 000 aimed for $200 000. Even individuals with $250 000 salaries said they needed $350 000 to feel truly content.