Happiness costs...£2.7m!

Happiness comes with a price tag of £2.7million, researchers claimed yesterday. And it would take the average person 94 years to earn it.

Almost half of us secretly yearn to live the playboy or playgirl lifestyle of big houses, flash cars, smart restaurants and exotic holidays.

Women are more demanding than men and the cost of happiness rises as people get older.

People under 24 need £2.5million to keep them happy, while those aged 44 to 55 would need £ 2.9million, according to Yahoo! Personal Finance. People who took part in the survey gave details of their salary, savings, ideal home, car and holiday.

They also described their ideal partner, what they liked to eat, drink, wear and do on a night out.

Results showed that almost 40 per cent of us are flashers - standing for 'funds low, always spending heaps' - while 15 per cent are happy chaps - 'have accumulated plenty, cash and happiness'.

Only about one per cent are misers who acquire wealth by making their money work for them.

The Welsh are most likely to be flashers, with 18 per cent spending most of their cash, while 55 per cent of Londoners aspire to the playboy lifestyle. Two per cent of people in Scotland, the North-East and West Midlands are 'misers'.

Carole Spiers, an occupational stress consultant, said: 'While money alone may not buy you happiness, a lack of it can mean a more stressful, less fulfilled and ultimately less happy life.'