Happiness Is Around £10,000 Per Year

Happiness is an elusive quality; some say it is free, some say it cannot be bought. It seems according to recent research from a high street bank that it can be bought, however, at around £10,000 per year.

The bank has worked out that each day people spend an average of £29 on pursuits which make them happy. It added that this comes to around £10,800 - close to half the average UK salary. This adds up to nearly £500 million across the country in a year is the sum needed to pursue all their interests in their social and leisure time.

The head of banking at the firm commented that people are prepared to pay for pleasure, often taking out loans and signing up to credit cards in order to continue spending on the things they love.

"Happiness certainly doesn’t come cheap. With the average Brit spending almost half of their annual wage on pursuits that make them happy, we place a high value on our leisure time," he said.

The results of the survey show that above all people put the greatest premium on their time outside work, and most value their ability to spend their money on things like holidays, trips to restaurants, cinemas, nights out, fashion, beauty products, electronic gadgets, and hobbies.

The survey also shows that the ordinary worker would demand almost twice the amount they usually earn to forfeit a day off from their job. Having adequate time off, according to one psychologist, is the key to happiness. When asked how much people would need to be paid per hour to work on their day off, the average response was around £19 per hour which is nearly twice the average hourly wage in the UK.

While most people will not sacrifice leisure time for paid work, more than 9.5 million Britons have worked on their day off within the last year without extra pay.

If you would like to know more about happiness why not ask AnswerBank Body and Soul.