For sale: happiness comes with a $40,000 price tag (SMH)

"For sale: happiness comes with a $40,000 price tag"

It seems we're a fairly shallow lot:

But it wasn't income in absolute terms that was important. The happiest people tended to be those earning more than others in their peer group; while the more dissatisfied were earning less. So the desire to keep up with the Joneses - or more specifically, to be the Joneses - has a very real effect on happiness.