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Price of happiness? It's 42,000 pounds!

April 26, 2010 15:34 IST

HappinessWhat's the price of happiness? For an average Briton, it's a home worth 500,000 pounds and an annual salary of 42,000 pounds, a new study has revealed.

But, that's not all.

The average Briton would also need at least two foreign holidays every year and have more than 33,000 pounds in savings and investments to be financially content and call before considering themselves 'well-off'.

Only then could they go on a guilt-free shopping trip without having to check their bank balance first.

But many have a long way to go to reach their dream -- as 16 per cent described their financial situation as poor, saying they often struggle to pay their bills.

And, another 57 per cent say they are managing day-to-day, they never buy any non-essential treats.

Just nine per cent of Britons are completely happy with their finances, the study, based on a survey, revealed. Ed Bowsher, the Head of consumer finance at lovemoney.com, which carried out the poll of 3,000 Britons, was quoted by The Daily Telegraph as saying, "Everyone dreams of being able to lead a life where they don't have to keep a close eye on their bank account.

"Many don't necessarily want to be rich, but just want to buy what they want when they want without having to worry."

According to the survey, four in ten Brits also said they would need to take at least one long-haul holiday every year before they classed themselves as well-off, while 82 per cent said they would need to be able to eat out or order in takeaways without worrying about the cost.

And 71 per cent of people would have to be able to splash out on luxuries such as clothes and gadgets without feeling guilty before they considered themselves to be well-off, the study found.

The survey also revealed that 57 per cent of people don't think they are ever going to reach a point where they are comfortably well-off.

And those who do think they will reach the age of 53 before they do.

Three quarters of Brits are working to get to the stage where they can consider themselves to be comfortably well-off, with 53 per cent even going without things to try and get to this stage, the survey found.

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