- Hearing the words 'I love you' is worth £163, 424 in monetary value, research has discovered.
- Archive shot of couple, man kissing woman's hand: Value of love is £163,424, study finds
A new book has attempted to work out our real worth by putting a value on those priceless moments in life.
Being in a stable relationship rings up a fortune of £154,849 with £63,256 placed on spending time with good mates.
The book "You Are Really Rich, You Just Don't Know It Yet" from former ad executives Steve Henry and David Alberts aims to show there are more important things money.
"The book is about a new value system, an alternative to a purely financial system," said Henry.
"Partly because, as a direct result of the credit crunch, people are exploring different ways of living, and they're looking for something to replace money as a general criterion for value."
A study was carried out by research specialist Brainjuicer who asked over 1,000 people nationally what made them happy.
They were asked to rate 50 different life events and experiences and compare them with the pleasure gained from a lottery windfall. Using a rating system a monetary value was calculated for those little things in life which make us happy.
"We started looking at the things that make a real difference in people lives and saying there is more to life than worrying about belt tightening in a recession," said Alberts.
"What it is doing is making us think twice about spending money and what we really want in life.
"It was interesting when doing the research that very few people mentioned money and people focused on family occasion, hanging out with friends, having a quiet time on their own, seeing grandchildren and visiting places they had never seen before as things that made a real difference in their lives."
Being in good health turns out to be our most precious possession with a value of £180,105. Being told "I Love You" comes second and is worth £163,424, followed by being in a stable relationship £154,849.
Other events in the top ten of life's best experiences are: living in a peaceful and safe country - £129,448; having children - £123,592; spending time with your family - £110,04; laughing - £108,021; having sex - £105,210; going on holiday - £91,759; savouring the peace and quiet - £89,828
Living in the City proves to be worth much less than being in the country.
Reading a book is worth £53,660 whereas going to the cinema comes in at half that £21,615. Being happy at work is £37,229 but it doesn't compare with a looking forward to the weekend which is £49,764 and taking a day off comes has a value of £54,428.
The prospect the getting up in the morning and anticipating a good day is worth £17,652 whereas the reality is we prefer getting home in the evening which is worth £45,328.
Eating chocolate comes higher than cooking a meal, £40,808 compared with £31,947. Supporting a team can be frustrating and has a value of £29,100 while playing can be more so £23,475.
Having a pet is worth £78,640 as a companion but a priceless baby hits the heights at £123,592.
Northerners rate being told I Love You higher than Having Good health whereas those living in the South having good health comes first, followed by I Love You. Both say the lowest rated experience in living in a city.
