Put it the other way. If you could have an extra $1500/year after-tax, would that motivate you to do some lifestyle changes? In EU you can travel to 3-5 countries (like a weekend trip) as a 20-something with that amount.
Edit: $50k after-tax is probably even low for HN, but it's probably in the top 1% globally.
> If you could have an extra $1500/year after-tax, would that motivate you to do some lifestyle changes?
When I was younger and poorer, maybe.
Now, not really. $1500/year for things I actually use on a 50k post tax income is nothing for peace of mind and convenience and saved time. Compare it to things like health insurance that you pay $3000-4000 a year for and maybe end up not using at all if you're healthy.
The problem for me, personally, is that I would be very hard pressed to find enough SAAS services I find useful to get to the $1500 number, if we exclude must-haves like utilities + internet subscription.
I pay ~$60/yr for a VPS and ~$35/yr for an email provider, and that's about it.
I want to know how much you earn yearly.
So let's assume this person makes $50k/y after taxes. How is 3% of your yearly income paid for stuff you use shocking? It's really not that much...