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August 25, 2009
How Money Makes Us Happy
MasterCard is right. All those priceless moments cost money
Money can’t buy love; it can’t buy true friendship. In fact, all the best things in life, at MasterCard says, are priceless.
It turns out however, all this conventional wisdom is wrong.
New research, as reported in the Boston Globe, actually does buy happiness, if its correctly spent. “For deep-seated psychological reasons, when it comes to spending money, we tend to value goods over experiences, ourselves over others, things over people. When it comes to happiness, none of these decisions are right.”
In other words consumption doesn’t make us happy. Once our basic needs are met, more money doesn’t do much to make us enjoy our lives more. This graph , picked up from Conor Clarke, illustrates the point well by linking happiness and GDP.
However, these findings neglect one thing. Money used in a certain way does make us happy. In a study of a group of employees following a special profit-sharing bonus, researchers “found that the only factor that reliably predicted which workers would be happy six to eight weeks after the bonus was their prosocial spending – the more money people spent on charity and gifts for others, the happier they were.”
Also, money spent on experiences did more to make people happier, probably because experiences like vacations, travel, or other events involve other people. The experience then changes the person in certain ways that stick around much better than the feeling of joy that comes from a new TV or cable subscription package.
The research on money coincides with other research on what makes people happy: Relationships with other people. That may be why church-goers are happier, married people are happier, people who are involved in voluntary organizations are happier.
Money does make us happy, but only if we don’t keep it for ourselves.
Comments
Couple questions for those reading to consider:
Did money itself make anyone happy, or was it the act of giving of oneself? (And money is not necessary for giving).
Would people have been happier if they spent less time pursuing money, and more time developing relationships? (Happiness from giving money does not necessarily justify spending more time getting more money to give).
Posted By: Daniel | August 29, 2009 11:08 AM
Hmmm. I've seen this research over and over. Why do we have to convince ourselves about the lack of relationship between money and happiness? Personally, I have been highly motivated to make money my entire career, and I believe it has made me a more disciplined, productive, and courageous person. Interpretation: A happier person. I also was motivated to have the freedom to take care of certain things for my family, future, and philanthropy. Money is very, very handy to have access to. Why do Christians get so fixated on not having it?
Posted By: Bradley J. Moore | August 30, 2009 6:26 PM
"That may be why church-goers are happier, married people are happier, people who are involved in voluntary organizations are happier."
I disagree with the very broad statement that married people are happier. People with social lives yes, and interaction with others but you do not need marriage to be happy. In fact, many married couples are some of the most unhappy I know.
Posted By: Suzy | September 1, 2009 5:57 PM
A man must have internal motivation to labour not from a money, and from responsibility before God.
Happiness comes only from God, it is a gift from God to the man for his aspiration to change, and becoming is better. Better in the spiritual understanding.
And a money can not do a man happy. It is the greatest deception.
I am from Ukraine, badly know English. Excuse me.
Posted By: Zdorovje Krasota | November 5, 2009 10:36 PM
Well yes we all need money...perseverance and hardwork are the key...however because of other selfish and greedy people others are being disregarded.. like these politicians, high paid actors and other human vanity...Im from a developing country for example,I finished my studies but there are no opportunities..searched the whole lot but nothing..need to go to other country for it and it's not that easy..before i wish to have money but now i just want this materialistic world to end...money or no money this world is just full of greedy people...
Posted By: Jo | December 24, 2009 8:11 PM