If you want to be smug, it does not matter how much money you have as long as you have more than those around you.
That’s the result of a new survey asking people if having – or not having – money made them happy by financial firm SunLife.
The poll found that three out of four people feel a lot happier when they know they have more disposable income than their family, friends and work mates.
From the results, the company also worked out those who thought they were worse off than others were 24% less happy.
But only 42% of people earning more than £60,000 a year described themselves as happy or very happy.
Perception of wealth
Overall, the firm looked at the financial habits of 3,000 British households and concluded that perceived disposable income was more important than actual wealth as a benchmark that impacts on happiness.
However, the research also showed that those with the lowest increase in money to spend believe they have more spare cash than other people.
The average household had disposable income of £441 a month – up from £355 last year.
The people who believed they have the most disposable income saw their disposable cash rise by just 1.3%, but those who thought they were financially on par had a 21.2% increase and 26.4% for those who thought they had less than everyone else.
Finally, the survey looked at who spent too much and revealed that one in four households end the month in the red and just over a fifth have no savings.
Taking control of your cash
“The survey found that people in control of their money are 7% happier than those who haven’t,” said SunLife spokesman Ian Atkinson.
“The results also showed the happiest people are 47% more likely to have savings than the most miserable. The lesson seems to be better budgeting and money management make you happier.”
He explained the survey confirmed how much someone earns and how they spend their cash were not important to most people.
“The real driver that makes people happy is believing they have more money than the people around them,” said Atkinson.
“For instance, we discovered that high earners who feel they have less disposable cash than their friends and neighbours were not as happy as someone earning less who thinks they have more cash than their friends and neighbours.”
