How much would make you happy?

by Money Doctor Thursday 31 May, 2007

Some of us are happy when we find some loose change down the back of the sofa, while others are ecstatic when we find that that extra tenner in our jeans just before putting them in the washing machine!

But when it comes to windfalls most of us are only interested in the big money!

Nearly two-thirds of us it say it would take a handout of at least £100,000 to change our lives!

National Savings and Investments (NS&I) recent survey showed that 62% of us believe a six-figure sum would be needed to have a noticeable impact on our lifestyle!

10% of us think that £2 million or more would be needed before we really noticed a difference!

Unsurprisingly, given their domination of the best-paid jobs, it is men who yearn most for the big pay day; 67% wanted more than £100,000 to improve their lifestyle compared to only 58% of women.

According to NS&I, a paltry 6% of us said we would be happy with only £1,000.

Andrew Oswald, professor of economics at the University of Warwick and a contributor to the BBC series The Happiness Formula said, "We have done research which shows that a cash windfall of just £1,000 has a marked effect on a person's happiness even two years after the event. So these people are perhaps kidding themselves a little if they think they need such a large amount."

Not that we are likely to go crazy with all our new found wealth! 20% of the 2,000 surveyed said they would pay off their overdraft and credit cards, with a further 14% claiming they would use the cash to move to a better home.

So, would £1,000 make you happy or are you dreaming of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

Just how much money would it take to make you feel happy?

Categories for this post: More Money Stuff

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Comments

2 jobs says:

Friday 01 June, 2007 / 17:06

Living within my means has enabled me to put away a small percentage of my salary every month. Therefore ?1000 is not a significant win. ?100,000 would secure my home and I could comfortably exist on my earnings.

cant keep up says:

Friday 01 June, 2007 / 19:06

just enough to pay off all the dept accumilated whilst i was a student nurse. now the NHS is calling for redundances i dont know if my job is secure or if i wil ever pay it all off 100.000 would pay all my creditors back and leave me enough to have my first holiday since 1998

a sari says:

Saturday 02 June, 2007 / 17:06

The real happiness evolves from within. the less u consme the happier & healthier u are. Not everyone believe in this , however nothing will make some people happy other than living a very high standard from the interest of the interest of your bank deposit.ie: one million pound is not enough. Did i depress anyone ? sorry

paul morris says:

Monday 04 June, 2007 / 15:06

?1000 would do me for a nice 42 inch plasma tv. I'm a simple man with simple needs!

Greedy? Me? NOOOO! says:

Monday 04 June, 2007 / 19:06

Well, I would only settle with ?5 million. Full stop

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