This is a question of passive income vs active.

Passive is king. You breath when you sleep. When you get too old to walk, you still breath.

I don't really care what makes more money, id just take the walking one to incentivise me to walk more. id rather be healthy than slightly richer

I have tthe benefit of a smart watch, so I know my stats quite well. Over the long term, I average 13 breaths per minute, or 18,720 breaths per day. That translates into $936 per day. When not injured, I average 22,000 steps per day, which would get me $5500 per day (currently injured, so no running, so I'm down to 12,000 steps or $3000 per day). Breathing would win only if I averaged fewer than 3744 steps per day. I think I get more just walking to my corner newsagent and back.

I doubt you average less than five breaths per step considering all the time one spends not walking, so this is really a no-brainer

I looked at my rates. At 17 breaths a minute, I would make $1,224 per day. At around 7725 steps per day, I would make $1,931 per day. I have to go back years to find a month that averaged a step income below my breath income. Hands down (or feet down), I’d choose making money through steps. I would be making over $700k a year. The added benefit is that I can also increase my step count per day and it would make me healthier. Increasing my breath rate generally wouldn’t.

Breathing is at least 150k a year, that's more than enough, even after taxes and has me covered when I'm old and can't go for a walk anymore.

I don't need more, I'd rather enjoy my quiet time and taking an walk and standing still for a while at a nice vista, enjoying the view. I don't need the constant chase for money and even more money in my life and the stress of having to keep moving to get even more. When I walk at the beach with my better half, I'd rather think of how nice this is rather than how much this earns me.

so average person takes 20K breaths a day, that's $1000/day every day for no effort.

Steps obviously vary a lot more. If you get the recommended minimum of 10K steps a day then that's $2.5K/day.

I feel like were I given this sort of earning potential I would probably seek to get in shape as a first step, which would make the step choice the overall better choice.

This is the absolute easiest question. If you ever get this, the answer is steps. Get your 10k steps a day, or even 20k if you're feeling frisky. Get in shape, buy some nice walking or running shoes, and invest the massive difference between walking and what breathing would get you.

Once you reach a good level invested, you're functionally able to retire and never even take another step. Your investments will cover everything.

Anyone who says breath doesn't realize the sheer difference steps can make.

Let's say you walk 10,000 steps a day. That's $2500 per day. Sounds like a lot right? How long would it take you to become a billionaire? 400,000 days or just under 1100 years. That's for 1 billion dollars. Bezos is worth 192.4 billion... Billionaires should not exist and the world would be better off if we ate them.

According to my quick random search* a normal persons breaths 20k times a day, which equals US$ 1k

In order to achieve that with steps, i would need 4k steps, which is practically nothing

Cashier: You are 5 dollars short

You: starts hyperventilating

breath! I breathe while I am asleep, case closed.

making money by sleeping? Fuck yeah

The breathing one allows you to make money while you sleep

The monkey's paw will break my legs. I'll take the breaths.

Breathing so I can make money while I sleep.

• Choose steps
• Don't pay taxes on them
• Taxman wants money
• I run away
• Taxman chases me
• Each step I run, I owe more money

Let's do some math, shall we?

Average person takes 12-20 breaths per minute. 0.05 × 12 = 60 cents a minute on the low end.

0.6 × 60 = $36/hr at minimum.

I was initially gonna say the steps one, but $36/hrs minimum just to exist? That sounds kinda tempting...

The average person takes ~12 breaths per minute, so the left works out to ~$ 850 if you do absolutely nothing.

Generally, taking more steps will include taking more breaths, as you increase physical exertion, your breaths per minute goes up. It won't be nearly as much of an increase to make up the difference for the increased value of steps.

Basically, I see this as two distinct paths. Low risk low reward, and higher risk higher reward. On the low risk side is breaths. Even if you become paraplegic, you will continue to earn. It will be less than the alternative in optimal conditions, but it will be earnings for every moment of your life for the rest of your life. On the high risk side, I see that you can very easily outpace the earnings of the alternative by simply being more active. The risk is that you need to keep active to earn. Any lazy days on the couch are going to cost you. Any days ill, bedridden or injured, will cost you.

This splits most into a more communal vs capitalistic view: where more long term thinkers would likely go with breathing, and more short term and capitalistic thinkers will go with steps.

If steps people take their income from those steps and invest wisely, they can secure more long term income, which is a good move, since it not only secures your position, but you can also pass on those benefits to future generations. People picking breath are going to be earning less overall, but continually and depending on conditions, could end up better for it in the long run, especially if they are faced with a disability that prevents them from walking.

Personally, I'd go with breaths. I want stability more than high earnings. My current lifestyle doesn't lend itself very well to taking many steps per day, so in my current position, I'd probably make more that way. Also the idea that I can make money while I'm sleeping is appealing to me.

A consistent $600-1000 daily would result in more than $200,000/yr on the low end, which is more than double my current salary... In fact nearly triple.

So you're telling me I can triple my yearly earnings by doing absolutely nothing differently? Sign me up.

I just want enough money to be comfortable. I'll take the breaths option for the free low effort money.

Considering my fitness tracker shows I took 121k steps in January, and the average breaths of 12 per minute, I'd have made 30k in January. 5k more than just breathing. Assuming a resting heart rate, breathing faster because of exercise is not a factor I can quantify

You couldn't pay me to breath. Not. even. once.

Now the melody from The Police is haunting me again.