We’ve all heard the saying “money doesn’t buy happiness” and we’ve seen the statistics that show happiness is only correlated to an increase in income up until just about $40,000. Beyond that, there seems to be no statistical evidence to support more money equating to an overall happier life. In other words, if you make $75,000, $100,000, or $200,000 — you’re no happier because of your earnings.

As someone that generally respects data, I have to admit, even I thought this was just not accurate regardless of what the data shows. How could you NOT be happier while making a great salary? In my ignorant younger years, I told myself that I would ALWAYS do whatever it took to make more money, climb that corporate ladder, and push myself to continue to increase my earnings no matter what. I haven’t entirely given up that drive, but after 6 years of professional experience working for multiple Fortune 500 companies, I have changed my tune quite a bit.

For context on my situation:

• My household income exceeded $200,000 last year living in the Midwest, so my husband and I have an incredibly comfortable lifestyle.
• We both work from home full-time on flexible work schedules (we sleep in several days a week to 9 am or so).
• We work no more than 40 hours/ week each, most of the time we work way less than that if I’m being honest.
• We have plenty of free time to hang out with our dogs, take naps, exercise, work on house projects, or do whatever we feel like doing.
• We’ve both agreed that our work-life balance and lifestyle is too great to disrupt, even if it means turning down opportunities for higher paying positions.

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As 20-somethings, we are not in the same position as most people our age. We aren’t in the “grind it out” phase of life where we are slaving away for our jobs. In fact, it’s just the opposite. We’ve both consistently turned down chances to make more money if it meant we’d have to work more hours, or work from a location that is not our home.

Our lack of desire to advance our careers is shocking to most. We have people in our life that can’t understand our point of view. Maybe it’s because they are lower earners who can’t fathom the idea of not wanting more money, or maybe they see it as us squandering our potential. To the ladder group, I would wonder what income level would be “enough” to suppress this criticism? If we “stopped trying” at $400,000, $500,000, or beyond, what would truly be enough in their eyes? Is enduring a 2-hour trip to & from work each day, barely spending time with your family, and being exhausted every day of your life worth that extra money? Growing up in the NYC area, I’ve known so many of those people. Their salaries were impressive, their homes were beautiful, and they were miserable. I refuse to live my life that way.

On the other hand, I do understand the skepticism of our choices because I myself would have felt similarly just a few years ago. When I was making $65,000 and we were living in an old 700-square foot apartment, I thought money was everything. I loved money. It was all I thought I needed. But after time to mature and learn more about what really matters in life, I’m proud to have chosen happiness over the hamster wheel of never being satisfied.

That being said, I question if I’ve only had the luxury of reaching this conclusion due to our income level. Would I feel this way if our income was half, or even a quarter, of what it is today? How does this play into the “You aren’t happier after $40,000” statistic? Would my maturation bring me to the same conclusion that work-life balance is more important than money if we couldn’t afford a beautiful house, nice vacations, premium products, and still have a hefty savings account?

I think about those lower-earning families that per the statistics, truly don’t need more money to increase their happiness. And I think about how similar our lives really are. Because at the end of the day, we are all the same regardless of money. When I really think about why my lifestyle is so great, it’s mostly because of the things that are free.

We’ve chosen time, relaxation, enough sleep, wearing pajamas whenever we’d like, peace of mind, not dealing with morning commute traffic, home-cooked meals, binge-watching Netflix, togetherness, and freedom over money. And that is exactly why at age 27, I can say that I hope I never get promoted again.