Money can buy happiness

IF YOU think money can’t buy you happiness you might be spending it on the wrong things, with new research suggesting that buying yourself extra time can in fact lead to greater levels of life satisfaction.

Carried out by researchers from the University of British Columbia, Canada, and Harvard Business School, the US, the team surveyed 6,271 adults in the United States, Denmark, Canada and the Netherlands.

Participants were asked how much money they spent each month buying themselves free time, such as paying someone to carry out household chores like cleaning and cooking.

The researchers found that regardless of income, those who spent money on things that saved them time reported greater life satisfaction.

“People who hire a housecleaner or pay the kid next door to mow the lawn might feel like they’re being lazy,” said study lead author Ashley Whillans, assistant professor at Harvard Business School.

“But our results suggest that buying time has similar benefits for happiness as having more money.”

“The benefits of buying time aren’t just for wealthy people,” added UBC psychology professor and the study’s senior author Elizabeth Dunn.

“We thought the effects might only hold up for people with quite a bit of disposable income, but to our surprise, we found the same effects across the income spectrum.”

However, despite the benefit of time-saving purchases, researchers were surprised to find that very few people actually chose to spend their money in this way in their daily life.

“Lots of research has shown that people benefit from buying their way into pleasant experiences, but our research suggests people should also consider buying their way out of unpleasant experiences,” said Dunn. – AFP-Relaxnews