Member Article

Happiness 'costs £10,000 a year'

The price of happiness is less than you would think – just £30 a day. That, of course, is money you have available to spend on frivolous extras, not living costs.

According to research from Abbey, the average Briton spends £10,801 each year on personal interests, amounting to around £496bn a year. The biggest spending by far is holidays at nearly £4,000, DIY at just under £2,000 and eating out and socialising at almost £1,300. However, the average Briton is not prepared to give up his or her free time in order to earn more. Most people are very clear that they would need a lot more if they were to give up their leisure time – a salary of at least twice as much as they are earning.

Steve Shore, Head of Banking at Abbey, said: “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.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .