Consultants apply slide rule to wealth, happiness

Happy are those who are wealthy, but they are only a little happier than people who are not. A new survey by Amarach consultants suggests that 98 per cent of adults in the high-earning ABC1 category describe themselves as happy, while 92 per cent of their counterparts in the less affluent C2DE group are equally happy. Put another way, the survey said only 2 per cent of ABC1s and 8 per cent of C2DEs are unhappy.

Some might argue that the omission of the emotions between happy and unhappy - there are many - might afford only a crude measure of being content, but the consultants' Future of Money survey paints an intriguing picture of the newly affluent Irish.

According to Mr Gerard O'Neill, who carried out the Statewide study of 500 people between the ages of 15 and 74, our view of cash in the booming economy still reflects the woes of the 1980s and the troubled times before. "The attitudes are those of our poorer selves of 10 years ago," said Mr O'Neill.

Stating that those in their twenties are the only group who seem to be living highly in the boom, Mr O'Neill said their elders still treat cash as they did in the dog days of fiscal rectitude, bracing taxation and cutbacks. It seems we are no longer living beyond our means. "There's still a degree of caution," said Mr O'Neill. "People are preparing for the rainy day even though we've had a lot of sunshine." For all that, it's clear from the survey that we are strongly attached to our cash. Of working couples surveyed, more than half said they "couldn't possibly manage" without both incomes.

And despite our affluence, money problems persist. More than half those surveyed said their cash situation is difficult and 40 per cent said their finances are out of control. Could that be possibly related to crazy prices on the property market?