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Money Brings Happiness — if You Give it Away

Posted Mar 21, 08 11:41 AM CDT in Science & Health 

(Newser) – Money can buy happiness after all, the Globe & Mail reports. A new study shows that people reported being happier if they spent money on others rather than themselves. "This work suggests that even making small alterations in how we spend money on a daily basis can make a difference in happiness," the lead researcher told the AP.

Hundreds of people—including some who had just gotten hefty work bonuses—were quizzed, and students were given cash to spend for the study, published in the journal Science. Invariably, those who used the money to buy something for others reported being happier. Earlier studies found little correlation between income and happiness. “To me, there was a logical error there," said the researcher. "Just because money doesn't seem to buy happiness for most people, doesn't necessarily mean that it can't.”

Sources Globe and Mail, Associated Press

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"The manner in which they spent that bonus was a more important predictor of their happiness than the amount of the bonus itself," researchers said after talking to employees at a Boston firm.   (Shutter Stock)
People who spent windfalls on their family and friends or gave it to charity had higher happiness levels than people who kept it for themselves, a new study has found.   (Shutter Stock)
Studies in the past have found that monetary gains make next to no difference to happiness levels.
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