The article If Money
Doesn’t Make You Happy, Then You Probably Aren’t Spending it Right by
Elizabeth Dunn, Daniel Gilbert, and Timothy Wilson explains how people often
misuse money while attempting to buy what they think will make them happy. A reason as to why people squander
their money on things that will not make them happy is because they often
wrongly forecast how future events will occur. The first principle for spending money is to buy experiences
instead of things. One reason
experiences are better than things is that we adapt to things quickly in
contrast to a memory that can continue to provide delight years after the
actual experience. Experiences are
also more likely to be shared with others which provides a higher level of
happiness. The second principle is
to help others instead of yourself.
Social relationships are argued to be universally essential for
happiness. The third principle is
to buy small pleasures instead of few big ones. Since we adapt to things quickly it seems it would be more
beneficial to buy a variety of small pleasures than few large purchases. The fourth principle is to buy less
insurance. Research shows that
humans are less fragile than they think and cope well with traumas. This research proves that buying
extended warranties on products may be “unnecessary emotional protection.” The fifth principle is to pay now and
consume later. Buying quickly can
often rack up debts and also eliminates anticipation which is another source of
happiness. People report high
levels of happiness when anticipating experiences. The sixth principle is to think about what you’re not
thinking about. This means that
people often ignore unpleasant details when imagining products, therefore
creating a bias of the degree of happiness that the purchase will give. The seventh to beware of comparison
shopping. Comparison shopping may
distract consumers from elements of a product that may be important to their
happiness. The eighth and final
principle is follow the herd instead of your head. Research shows that a good way to predict how much we will
enjoy something is to see how much someone else enjoyed the same experience or
product. Money can buy happiness,
if we use it the right way.