Would You Rather?

Sex versus money.

People love sex and money in equal measure. People spend time chasing after both with questionably successful results. But, have you ever thought about what you would rather have? Sex or money? You can’t have both, that’s not how this theoretical situation works.

Having Sex Once a Week Makes People Happier Than Earning an Extra $50,000

It turns out that there is a price for the happiness engendered by good, decent, fulfilling sex and that price is $50,000 extra a year, according to this study brought to my attention by Cosmopolitan. It’s a old study — they used it as a peg to segue into the kind of sex that makes people the happiest, but the question at the root of this mess is worth considering.

People surveyed for the study determined that they would rather have good sex once a week than earn $50,000 extra a year. Because this is the Billfold, let’s break this down: $50,000 a year is roughly $37,500 after taxes. Add that to a salary of, say, $45,000 a year, and you’ve moved up a tax bracket and your life has changed dramatically. The study doesn’t lay out whether or not sex of any sort is off the table entirely — this is not nearly that dramatic — but imagine the offer of “good” sex once a week instead of $50,000 extra a year.

There’s a lot to consider, of course. If you’re in a relationship and having sex that is passable to great, then maybe you’d take the money and run. If you’re single and the sex is non-existent, then maybe the theoretical promise of weekly good sex is enough for you to tell this windfall to fuck off and to take the getting where the getting is good. Either way is fine!

I’d probably take the money. Sex is easy enough to have if you want to have it, but $50,000 extra with no strings is hard to come by. What about you?

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