As long as we use money wisely, happiness will come.
Happiness is quite an ambiguous concept, as each person perceives happiness in a different way. Therefore, we have many paths to achieve happiness, and one of them is money.
In fables, fairy tales, and life lessons, we are often taught that “money cannot buy happiness.” This is not entirely incorrect, but it is also not entirely true, because if happiness is a broad concept, then money can indeed buy happiness when viewed from the right perspective. In fact, numerous studies show that people with money often report higher life satisfaction than average.
People with money tend to have higher life satisfaction.
Recently, a study conducted by the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School has officially confirmed that: Money can buy happiness, as long as it is used to buy time for yourself.
Specifically, experts suggest that spending money to hire someone to cook or clean… or in other words, “buying free time” can help make your life more comfortable, leading to higher satisfaction levels.
To achieve these results, researchers conducted a study involving over 6,000 participants from the United States, Denmark, Canada, and the Netherlands. Participants were asked to complete a survey detailing how much money they spent each month to “buy time” for themselves.
Buying free time is a way to use money to exchange for happiness.
After completing the survey, participants were asked to rate their life satisfaction and their exposure to stress related to time management.
According to psychologists, spending money to reduce household chores can make people happier, as it eliminates the feeling of not having enough time to accomplish tasks. This, in turn, improves mood and overall life satisfaction.
However, one issue puzzling scientists is that the number of people willing to spend money on this is significantly lower compared to what they are willing to spend on luxury goods. In other words, we are hesitant to spend money to buy time.
We are hesitant to spend money to buy time.
To explain this, Ashley Whillans, the lead researcher, proposed the hypothesis of what she calls the “busy symbol.” “Previous studies have indicated that busyness can be seen as a social symbol—at least in North America,” she stated.
“In other words, we always want others to see us as busy, working hard, and able to do everything without help. Because of this, we hesitate to spend money to buy ourselves a little free time.”
“However, the research results indicate that we should overcome this fear and start spending more money to buy time. By doing so, you will reduce stress related to work and time, making you happier.”
According to Elizabeth Dunn, one of the senior experts in the study, the benefits of buying time are not just for wealthy individuals.
“We often think that only affluent people can do this, but in reality, even those with lower incomes can experience similar benefits if they are willing to spend money,” Dunn shared.
Let’s start counting money.
So, what’s the conclusion? It is if you can afford it, spend money to buy yourself some free time. Additionally, family members should help each other with household chores. When everyone’s free time increases, that is when we become happier.
