A study has revealed how much money you actually need to be happy

Is it less than you thought?

(Image credit: Getty)

Money doesn’t buy happiness, or so it is claimed by the classic cliché.

But according to a new study, the exact amount needed to make Brits content with life has been pin pointed.

Researchers at Raisin UK claim to have discovered the minimum amount of money you need to earn in the UK for optimal wellbeing – and it's not as much as you might think.

The financial services company analysed data from the Office for National Statistics and Happy Planet Index to find the salary figure that they say the average Briton would live a happy life with.

The rather specific amount they have concluded does the trick is £33,864 (or more).

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

You’re probably wondering how they could possibly figure that out. Well, the researchers identified the happiest places to live in the UK and then the average amount of how much the happiest people living in those areas earned.

These places included picturesque towns and cities like Cambridge, St Albans, Chelmsford, Perth, Edinburgh, Derby and Bath.

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Kevin Mountford, Co-Founder of Raisin UK, said, “While our research suggests money can buy happiness it’s not always the case in real life when put into action.

“Money does help ease the stresses of daily life which could mean a longer life expectancy in the long-term.

“Using the Raisin UK does money buy happiness research can help you decide which city across the UK and country in the world to live in to be the happiest you possibly can.”

While earning just over £33,000 in the UK is enough to make you happy, according to this study, the same can’t be said for globally, with the average salary of the top ten happiest countries in the world coming in at £64,057.28.

Caitlin Elliott
News Editor

Caitlin is News Editor for woman&home, covering all things royal, celeb, fashion, beauty and lifestyle. Caitlin started on local papers and titles such as Cosmopolitan, Now, Reveal and Take a Break while studying for her Multimedia Journalism degree. She also worked in Fashion PR as a Press Assistant for Arcadia's Topshop before becoming a part of the Now team. Caitlin went on to add the likes of Woman, GoodtoKnow, WhatToWatch and woman&home to her writing repertoire before moving on to her current role.