Happiness comes with a price tag of $40K

For Australians, happiness comes with a price tag of $40,000 , according to a survey, which proved that financial security certainly seems to play a role in whether a person is happy or not.

According to the latest AMP.NATSEM report, The Pursuit of Happiness, Australians are a comparatively happy bunch and are among the most satisfied people in the world.

Almost 90% of Aussies say they are satisfied with their lives, despite having to work harder to juggle family, job and financial pressures, which puts them in equal third place internationally, along with the US and Sweden.

On the other hand Ireland, Norway and Denmark tied in having the happiest populations.

Finland or Canada came in an equal second.

The report found factors like friends and family, health and work are big contributors to happiness.

The study also found that people with more money tend to be happier.

The graph is taken from data in the government's Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, which asked people to rate how happy they were with their lives on a scale of one to 10.

They found that the least satisfied Australians are those on lower incomes.

The median income for the two least satisfied groups was $15,000 and $22,000 compared with $40,000 for those rating their level of happiness at seven, eight or nine.

The happiest people tended to be those earning more than others in their peer group, while the more dissatisfied were earning less.

The survey also looked at how wealth influenced happiness. And it is the findings here that deliver the real message to individuals, financial institutions and governments.

While higher levels of wealth again generally equate to higher levels of happiness, the report found particular types of wealth - such as the family home, super, and savings - are linked to greater happiness than other types of wealth.

People who owned their homes debt-free, or even with a mortgage, were happier than non-home owners, regardless of other influences such as age, health, and relationship status.

But investment properties, debt-free or otherwise, didn't have the same effect.

The conclusion of the report is that while there are definite links between money and happiness, money doesn't automatically buy greater contentment.

And while consumption spending is fun, being both financially better off and spending money wisely can make people happier.

''People spending their money on their home, home renovation or holidays, instead of on meals eaten out, a new car or a new TV, are more likely to be satisfied with their lives. And having low or no credit card debt or overdue bills is also likely to increase overall life satisfaction,'' the Sydney Morning Herald quoted the reports as concluding.