Can money buy happiness

Have you ever wondered if money really can buy happiness? Emma Taylor for M2Women writes that happiness can be bought so long as your money is spent on this one thing – experience. Some of the main points of her article, Science Says Money Can Buy Happiness if it is Spent on This One Thing, are shared below.

Taylor shares the research of Dr. Thomas Gilovich, a psychology professor at Cornell University who recently published a study in the Journal of Consumer Psychology titled, “A Wonderful Life: Experiential Consumption and the Pursuit of Happiness.“

Dr. Gilovich says that “as important as possessions might be to a person’s identity and sense of self, they are not as important as a person’s experiences…We are the total of our experiences. We are not the sum total of our possessions, however important they might be to us. If called upon to write our memoirs, it is our experiences we would write about, not our possessions.”

Spending money on new experiences is a great way to experience joy. Some examples include travel, taking a class, going skydiving, dance lessons, learning to play an instrument, etc. The experience creates happy memories and sometimes skills that can last a lifetime. New accomplishments help create a sense of satisfaction and give a new perspective.

If you’d like to read the article in full you can find it here.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Taylor? What are some of your best experiences? Please leave your comments below.

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