It’s easy to feel that the tightening of purse strings since the recession is taking its toll on our happiness; we can all think of a few things we’d like to splash some cash on (exotic trip to the Caribbean, anyone?).

But apparently money only affects our happiness levels if that’s what we focus our thoughts on. When finances are at the forefront of our mind, our income has a direct effect on overall life satisfaction, according to research from the London School of Economics.

When we focus on anything other than money, our income plays no role in how happy we are, and friends and family are far more consistent factors in providing feelings of wellbeing.

Still not convinced? According to numerous research studies as stated in The Escape Manifesto (Wiley, £12.99) by Escape the City, we really only need enough money to meet basic food and shelter needs. Any incremental increase after this has little effect on our happiness.

More inspiration:

Read Happiness comes from giving, not buying or having by Dr Steve Taylor on LifeLabs

Read A message from the Dalai Lama by David Head on LifeLabs

Read Giving can be thinking kind thoughts on the Tube on LifeLabs