Putting numbers to facts of life

1. The correlation between money and happiness

How many of us do remember Marslow's Theory of Needs? At the bottom-most of all needs is physiology needs of human beings. During such times, money to buy food and basic necessities to make life comfortable plays an important role. As annual income increases, other factors come into play to increase general satisfaction.

I came across this study that put a number to the annual household income that money buys happiness:

US$75,000

That's the magic figure obtained by the study which is performed on a group of Americans. Per the study (click here), "the level of 75,000 dollars was just above the median income of 71,500 dollars for US households in 2008." Should we do a research, the median income in Singapore is approximately S$53,000 dollars (click here).

Based on the following assumptions:
- The annual household income approximates the median income in Singapore.
- The standard of living in Singapore and America in terms of spendings vis-a-vis earnings is approximately the same.

From the above, the magic number for the annual household income that money can buy happiness for Singapore would be S$53,000.

2. Health and overtime

We all know that sleeping late is unhealthy. But do you know that overtime also has an impact on a person's health?

Based on research by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, working just three hours overtime every day has been linked to a 60% higher risk of heart problems.

So, isn't it time to pack up your bag to knock off now?

3. Prepare to lose your best friends

Earlier this week, I read from Yahoo (I couldn't locate the webpage now), that a person who has entered into a relationship must be prepared to lose at least 2 best friends. Based on the research, an average person has only 4 best friends at any one time. The amount of time that a person spends with a new significant other approximates the time that a person spends with 2 best friends.

As with general relationships, time is required for bonding between 2 individuals. Not surprisingly, spending more time with your significant other results in a decrease in time spent with your best friends. 2 to be specific.

That's all I have. Please feel free to comment with any statistics in life that are interesting. =)