“Money can’t buy me love,” the Beatles sang. But can greenbacks buy a measure of happiness?
Yes, to an extent, psychologists say, but many people don’t know how to spend for maximum happiness.
“Money is an opportunity for happiness, but it is an opportunity that people routinely squander because the things they think will make them happy often don’t,” says Elizabeth W. Dunn, PhD, associate professor of psychology at Canada’s University of British Columbia.
As a young academic, Dunn had a personal stake in figuring out how to best spend one’s money. “I went from being a graduate student, making around $20,000…
