It's All About the Tradeoffs

Economist Justin Wolfers, who studies money and happiness, cites his own experience in a Money interview (sorry, no link):

Q. Are you happier now that you make more money than you used to?

A. Unquestionably, yes. When I was in graduate school and I went into a store, I was always looking at the prices. I was constantly calculating. You ask yourself, "Can I afford to buy this box of cereal?" You think, "If I buy more of this, maybe I can afford less of that." You're making these tradeoffs and you're constantly aware of these tradeoffs. And it's tiring.

The first thing I did when I had a well-paying job is I stopped looking at those price tags. Now I never really feel stressed about money. Even if I lost my job tomorrow, I have my degree, and I can get another job. I get to live free from stress and worry and the constant calculating of tradeoffs that I had earlier in my career.

Q. So would I be happier if I became a hedge fund manager?

A. Don't let an economist bully you into believing money's all that matters. And don't let a psychologist bully you into believing that money is completely unimportant. How you manage that tradeoff is going to require a lot of experimenting and thinking and introspection. People choose occupations based not just on money, but also on meaning. There's nothing in my research that says that's a bad idea.

Justin Wolfers is happy, and not only because he has more money (NYT photo)