Thursday, July 28, 2016

Would Your Year Be Better if You Lived on $9733?

"What is a man profited, if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?" (Luke 9:25)

Globally, the median household income is $9733.  The average life expectancy at birth is 71.0 years. 

Here in the US, the median household income is $51939, and the average life expectancy is 79.3 years. 

In other words, although there is a correlation between income and life expectancy, the correlation is not proportionate.   If you want to dig into this topic more deeply, Google "Preston curve". 


Here's my question: is it worth our trouble to earn that extra $42K a year, to add another 8.3 years onto our lives?  In trying to gain more years, are we wasting our days?  What if our families voluntarily chose to live on $9733 a year?  There would be more lasagna and motorcycles and mobile homes and fewer Brussels sprouts and SUVs.  But although our lives would be shorter, we would either have a lot more time for serving (if we chose to work less) or a lot more money for giving (if we continued working the same amount). 

Have you already taken steps in this direction?  I would love to hear your story!  Wrestling with a particular aspect of your expenditures?  Share your quandary, perhaps someone will have an idea for you. 

(Footnote: household income stats are from 2014; life expectancy stats from 2015.)