If Money Doesn't Make You Happy Then You Probably Aren't Spending It Right
Money and happiness are explored through eight principles - experiences over things, prosocial spending, small pleasures, less insurance, delayed consumption, considering the overlooked, caution in comparison, and social influences.
scholar.harvard.eduThanks to hedonic adaptation, chasing after “things,” material or otherwise, in the long run won’t make you any happier.
Channeling Gertrude Stein, money can buy happiness if you shop in the right places, both physically and mentally. When money is spent to underwrite the sources of contentment detailed in the previous chapter, then—yes—money buys happiness. “Money is an opportunity for happiness, but it is an opportunity that people routinely squander because the th
... See moreLet me reiterate: research clearly shows that people who value time are happier, healthier, and more productive than those who value money over time.2 But we still focus on money, because we underestimate the value of our time; we tell ourselves that we will have more time tomorrow than we do right now (we won’t); and we underestimate how long it w
... See moreWhat making money will do is solve your money problems. It will remove a set of things that could get in the way of being happy, but it is not going to make you happy.
Beyond the point of Diminishing Returns, having more money doesn’t increase happiness and may actually decrease it by becoming a source of stress and worry. (For examples of how money can decrease happiness, read Fables of Fortune: What Rich People Have That You Don’t Want by Richard Watts.) Knowing your monetary point of Diminishing Returns is use
... See moreThe data shows that people who are rich aren’t any happier, so you might as well derive your happiness from what you are doing today.