The wisdom of the grandmothers has it that money can’t buy happiness. But latest research seems to have reached a somewhat uneasy conclusion that the problem is that people don’t know how to spend it.
“If money doesn’t make you happy, then you probably aren’t spending it right,” Dunn, Gilbert and Wilson (pdf) distills tons of research in to eight succinct guidelines. Here’s how you should spend your money:
- Buy experiences instead of things
- Help others instead of yourself
- Buy many small pleasures instead of few big ones
- Buy less insurance
- Pay now and consume later
- Think about what you’re not thinking about
- Beware of comparison shopping
- Follow the herd instead of your head
And here’s the conclusion worthy of being nailed to the wall:
Our money provides us with satisfaction when we think about it, but not when we use it. Money can buy many, if not most, if not all of the things that make people happy, and if it doesn’t, then the fault is ours.
So go ahead, make more money, minus the guilt, and buy some happiness with it!