Can Money Buy Happiness?

“If you spend money on services that save you time instead of buying material things, your happiness will increase”, says Paul Smeets, economist at Maastricht University. He conducted research among a group of six thousand Dutch, Danish, American and Canadian people.

What do people spend their money on? And what does that bring them in terms of happiness? “Creating time for activities provides happiness”, says Smeets. “Think of sports or helping other people. It is best to outsource tasks you hate doing yourself. Shopping, cooking, cleaning or DIY around the house. It differs per person, but if you don’t like it, spend your money on that delivery service, cleaner or handyman, instead of buying a television or telephone with better specs.”

The average difference in happiness between rich people and those with an average income is only 0.5 on a scale from 1 to 10, according to Smeets. “The happiness you achieve with buying time is considerable. For people who spend their money on leisure rather than material things, happiness increases from an average of 7 to 7.5. This is exactly the difference between an average earner and a rich person.”

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