MONEY DOES BUY US HAPPINESS

AN annual salary of at least £43,000 will bring you “emotional well-being”, according to a new study.

But to achieve “life satisfaction” you need to be earning more than a whopping £68,000.

And that’s bad news for most Brits – our average annual wage is £27,195.

Study author Andrew Jebb said: “These amounts might be surprising, as what we see on TV and what advertisers tell us we need would indicate there is no ceiling on how much money is needed for happiness.

“It’s been debated at what point does money no longer change your level of wellbeing. We found the ideal income is £68,840 for life satisfaction and £43,478 to £54,347 for emotional wellbeing.”

But the US study also found a downside to earning so much, because it made people worry more about how they compared to other people and about their own worth. Jebb, of Purdue University in Indiana, said: “Money is only a part of what really makes us happy and we’re learning more about the limits of money.” The stats are based on figures from the Gallup World poll, which surveyed more than 1.7million people in 164 countries. But not everyone agrees with the findings. German scientists claimed last year that generosity was the best route to happiness. They said giving presents would create a positive emotion which showed up in brain scans. Amazingly, the reaction to giving a present was better than receiving one.