This is not too far from my own salary in a rural-ish area, my wife making half that as a teacher. We budget and manage our money carefully, and are indeed happy; we never disagree about money. When I was in major debt, I found I was constantly stressed and on the edge. Once it got paid off, I felt free. I have a mortgage and student loans (and a year left on a car note), but it's just a monthly payment with low interest. Even with a second child on the way, I don't feel worried; it won't be easy, but it's definitely manageable.
One of the biggest mistakes I make is seeing people save for their kids to go to college. Not only can you barely beat inflation (if not for the tax benefits), what happens when your child wants to major in Psychology? I treat college like an investment; for some careers it's appropriate, others not. If it's appropriate, then you should be able to take out loans that can be repaid in 5-6 years. If the career they want does not allow for that, then some better decisions need to be made. Nothing wrong with skilled trade these days.
My only worry (and it doesn't keep me up at night) is with retirement. I save probably 10% toward that, with 11% returns the past few years (I know, right?), but even at that rate I won't really be able to retire until my late 60s if I want any sort of decent life. I'm working now on trying to save more so that maybe I can retire earlier.
In the end, I believe unhappiness with money has more to do with debt than income. I'd imagine the results are skewed because people making $75k may also tend towards less debt. I imagine those making half that amount would be plenty happy if they had no debt to worry with.
One of the biggest mistakes I make is seeing people save for their kids to go to college. Not only can you barely beat inflation (if not for the tax benefits), what happens when your child wants to major in Psychology? I treat college like an investment; for some careers it's appropriate, others not. If it's appropriate, then you should be able to take out loans that can be repaid in 5-6 years. If the career they want does not allow for that, then some better decisions need to be made. Nothing wrong with skilled trade these days.
My only worry (and it doesn't keep me up at night) is with retirement. I save probably 10% toward that, with 11% returns the past few years (I know, right?), but even at that rate I won't really be able to retire until my late 60s if I want any sort of decent life. I'm working now on trying to save more so that maybe I can retire earlier.
In the end, I believe unhappiness with money has more to do with debt than income. I'd imagine the results are skewed because people making $75k may also tend towards less debt. I imagine those making half that amount would be plenty happy if they had no debt to worry with.