--- title: Life: 5 Ways Money Can Make You Happier description: Buy the means that will bring another smile to your face canonical: https://time.com/3914514/money-spending-happiness/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-11T04:01:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:33.485Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 5 Ways to Spend Your Money That Will Make You Happier og:description: Buy the means that will bring another smile to your face og:url: https://time.com/3914514/money-spending-happiness/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b2fe96ab4bbe3e8/698853aa06f2c176a833a8d6/121330714-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=507&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 507 og:image:height: 285 og:image:alt: piggy-bank og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Ways to Spend Your Money That Will Make You Happier twitter:description: Buy the means that will bring another smile to your face twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b2fe96ab4bbe3e8/698853aa06f2c176a833a8d6/121330714-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=507&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Ways to Spend Your Money That Will Make You Happier > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: How to Maximize Happiness With Your Spending: An Economist Explains [Watch (HLS stream): How to Maximize Happiness With Your Spending: An Economist Explains](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Ypg3UoAM.m3u8) (1:29)  _Published 2014-06-09. University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers explains how best to spend your money to maximize happiness._ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jun 11, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  Pink piggy back Pink piggy back Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jun 11, 2015 4:01 AM UTC ### Can Money Buy Happiness? Yes. But you might be surprised by the ways you should spend it. Harvard professor [Michael Norton](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/05/harvard-michael-norton-happier/) and co-author Elizabeth Dunn have a new book out, [Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451665067/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1451665067&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20), that details the research on the 5 best ways to turn your dollars into lasting smiles. What are they? ### 1) Buy Experiences Via [Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451665067/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1451665067&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- (For more on the science of being happier and more successful, click [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/).) ### 2) Make It A Treat Via [Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451665067/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1451665067&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- (For more on how ancient philosophy can make you happier, click [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/01/ancient-philosophers/).) ### 3) Buy Time Via [Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451665067/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1451665067&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- (To learn how to stop being lazy and use your time more productively, click [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/).) ### 4) Pay Now, Consume Later Via [Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451665067/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1451665067&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- (To learn what research says about how millionaires really become millionaires, click [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/millionaires/).) ### 5) Invest In Others Via [Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451665067/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1451665067&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- (For more on how nice guys can finish first, click [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/04/interview-wharton-business-school-professor-teaches-approach-give/).) More from [Michael Norton’s](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/05/harvard-michael-norton-happier/) TEDx talk here: To learn more check out [Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451665067/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1451665067&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20). **Join over 190,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/05/can-money-buy-happiness-2/)**_._** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) [How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-get-people-to-like-you/) [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) ## Transcript Other ways you can better use your money to get more happiness bang for your buck. The research seems to suggest there are ways in which you can. The first would be to say, focus on experiences rather than goods. Right now you might covet a new car, and you might think that one of your next get to sit in a fancy new sports car, that you'll be so much happier. The truth is you'll be sitting in traffic. You'll be thinking about the day you just had at work. We think about other things and the fact that you're in a shiny new car won't be that salient you won't get that much joy out of it. Think instead about a, a great vacation. You can probably remember the last great great vacation you had. And you can still enjoy dining out on those memories. And that's the sensing in which it makes sense to focus on spending. On experiences rather than things. And then there are actually techniques we can use to do a even better job of that. I remember when I went to the World Series. I didn't just go to the World Series. I bought a, a baseball cap, that always reminds me of the fact that I went to the World Series with my stepfather. That elongates the experience. Like I get to relive having been at the World Series many, many more times. And then there's research from Mike Norton at Harvard who says that, giving money can actually yield greater happiness. And it's an instinct that's within many of us. And I, the way I interpret Mike's research is don't let the inner, inner economist or the inner Grinch within you squash that impulse. 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