Money does buy happiness – but most people want a considerable lump sum to bring a smile to their face, according to a new survey.
The average amount of cash in the bank that will bring a smile to most people’s faces is a substantial £7,646,500, researchers for cashback Quidco have revealed.
Around 2,000 people were asked how much cash would make them happy – and almost two-thirds put a figure on their wellbeing.
For 10%, the figure was a massive £50 million, while at the other end of the scale another 10% opted for just £250,000. The average was £7.65 million.
Although cash would make many people happier, having money in the bank also brought out their dark side.
Secret windfalls
A fifth disclosed they would keep their windfall secret – not even telling their partners about their good luck.
Many confessed that they would willingly leave their partners for cash – and a lot less than the amount would make them happy.
The study found £1.3 million was enough for the average person to pack their bags and leave their partner, while £1.4 million would see them walk out of their job.
Even if someone came into a fortune, a miserly 3% admitted they would not fritter the cash on gifts, holidays and hand-outs for family and loved ones. However, a huge majority of 80% professed they would be generous with their money.
Paying down debts would be a priority for a third and buying a luxury home appealed to 12%. Other aspirations included investing, helping out family, expensive holidays and buying a home overseas.
Dares to raise cash
The firm’s Vix Leyton said: “Many say money can’t buy happiness, but that doesn’t appear to be right according to our research.
“We were surprised at how much money people aspired to – and what they would do to raise the money.”
The lengths people would go to for money included:
- Chancing Russian roulette with a loaded gun – £4,465,027
- Going to work naked for the day – £3,479,621
- Running a 26-mile marathon naked – £4,085,672
- Letting a William Tell archer shoot an apple off their head with a crossbow – £2,969,758
- Having their face tattooed – £4,318,907
- Marrying someone they do not love – £3,941,149
- Auditioning for TV talent show The X-Factor – £2,853,069
- Letting a tarantula spider crawl over their face – £2,468,650
Other trials people would endure for between £1 million and £2 million cash include swimming with sharks, eating Kangaroo testicles, shaving off their hair and staying in a haunted house for a night.
Not everyone believes money can buy happiness – many thinkers believe the cost of being happy is an intangible currency, while scientists take a different view.
