Earnings

The amount of money that you can make varies from career to career.

A 2013 report by the Economic Policy Institute estimates the income level necessary for families (with two parents and two children) to secure an adequate but modest living standard at between $48k and $94k depending on broad geographic location (not counting money put into savings).

A 2010 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that emotional well-being increases with household income up to $75k/year but no further, and that life satisfaction increases with household income up to well beyond $120k/year.

Some things that extra money can be useful for are:

• Geographic flexibility — You can use additional money to live in areas with higher cost of living.
• Raising children — You can use additional money to pay the financial costs of raising children.
• Donating to charity — You can use additional money to donate to charity.
• Luxury spending — You can use additional money to buy luxury goods and experiences.
• Liquidity — You can use additional money to cover unexpected expenses (such as medical bills), or to retire early.
• Social influence — You can use additional money for social influence – for example, by making ear-marked donations to community organizations that you're a part of.

Geographic flexibility

Economic theory predicts that the more desirable a location is to live in, the higher the housing cost is there. For example, a recent survey found that New York City is the city in the United States that people collectively find to be the most desirable, and ApartmentList.com reports that New York City has the second most expensive housing in the United States. The cost of renting an apartment for a two parent, two child family ranges from ~$600/month in certain rural areas to ~$4000/month in Manhattan, New York.

So earning more money can enable you to live in a more desirable location.