Washington, Aug 10 - Focussing on non material wealth rather than financial wealth can help people get through today's tough times, according to two of the world's leading psychological experts on happiness.

More money makes people feel better about their lives, but it won't necessarily improve their quality of life, they said.

Ed Diener of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UI-UC) and Robert Biswas-Diener of the Centre for Applied Positive Psychology in Milwaukee conducted the study.

'People should avoid the trap of over-emphasising financial matters and consider a complete portfolio of resources. This will help them cope when hard times are imminent,' said Diener.

Diener also referred to a recent poll conducted by the Gallup Organisation that surveyed more than 1,36,000 people in 132 countries from 2005 to 2006.