MORTGAGE = HAPPINESS

Seeking happiness? An Australian researcher finds that making payments on a mortgage is a good way to feel better. Professor Bob Cummins of Deakin University told the Sydney Morning Herald that his studies of well-being have found that homeowners are more content than renters at all levels of income. Renters tend to be more footloose, Cummins said. Couples also find that holding a mortgage together increases their feeling of commitment. Oddly, events like the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States or the Bali nightclub bombing that killed scores of Australian tourists can also increase a feeling of well-being. "All of this created an amazing sense of external threat that Australia had not really had since World War II," Cummins said. "This kind of threat caused people to bond much better." But there's nothing like a mortgage, especially for couples. "They have a clear investment in their combined future. People who rent have not made that kind of mutual commitment," Cummins said.

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