A highly subjective measure of happiness that is an important component of many financial decisions. Factors that play a role in quality of life vary according to personal preferences, but they often include financial security, job satisfaction, family life, health and safety. Financial decisions usually involve a tradeoff where quality of life is decreased in order to save money or, conversely, quality of life is increased by spending more money.

Commuting to work provides a good example. It is possible to save money on housing by living further away from popular job centers and commuting to work. However, commuters don’t have as much time to spend with family or on hobbies because of the extra time spent sitting in traffic. Some people consider this tradeoff worthwhile, while others choose to maximize their quality of life by spending more money to live closer to work.

Quality of life is also an issue when developing a personal savings plan. In this case, the tradeoff involves a sacrifice of current quality of life in order to improve future quality of life.