Money CAN buy you happiness….just give it away

May 8, 2012

This goes against everything that we have been led to believe. Surely it cant be right. Yet researchers at Harvard University have proven that there is a way that money can make you happy……you just have to give it away.

Students were given envelopes containing cash, between $5 and $15, along with a note about what they should do with it. Half were told to spend it on themselves, the other half were told to spend it on somebody else. They all rated their happiness levels before and after the experience.

Those who indulged themselves showed no change in happiness, whilst the people who did something for others, even it was a small thing, showed significant increases in how happy they felt afterwards.

Feeling a bit down today? Do something small for somebody else.

See Michael Norton’s TED talk on this here