New research shows: Money can really buy happiness!

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Happiness is a rather vague category because each of us feels happiness in a different way. Therefore, we also have many ways to achieve happiness and one of them is money.

In previous fables, fairy tales or life lessons teach us that " Money does not buy happiness ". This is obviously not wrong but it is not true in all cases. If happiness is a broad concept, money can still be bought happily from a suitable perspective .

Recent research shows that spending money can actually make people feel happier , as long as we spend money to buy free time for ourselves - by hiring maids or washing cars for example.

Perhaps this is a sign of busy life, but this study shows that using money to buy time will make us feel happier than using money to buy something.

The international team surveyed 6,271 people at various income levels from the US, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands. From that, the link between the use of money to buy free time and the level of satisfaction in each person's life.

" People who spend money on hiring a maid to move or hire a neighbor to clean the garden might feel more and more lazy. But, according to their recent research results. I, this will have a positive impact on people's moods like having more money than that, 'said lead researcher Ashley Whillans from Harvard Business School (HBS ).

Participants in this study were asked how much money they spent each month in exchange for their free time. From there, they will evaluate the level of satisfaction with life. The results of this survey show that people who use money to buy free time for themselves will feel more satisfied with life, with less pressure on time and often in a better mood.

" This positive effect is not only true for the wealthy. We think that only surplus people can do so, but even those with incomes are not high, if they accept to spend money. buying free time has the same effect , "said Elizabeth Dunn from the University of British Columbia in Canada.

Besides, the team also conducted another practical test. They asked 60 Vancouver residents to spend $ 40 in exchange for free time for themselves on weekends. By the following week, these people were asked to spend $ 40 to spend on other physical items.

As a result, people who participate in this test feel happier when they use money in exchange for time, compared to spending the same amount of money on shopping. So, maybe you would be happier if you hire a gardener instead of a lawn mower.

This is not something too surprising, because there was a study in the past that people will feel happier if they have more free time, rather than having more money . Perhaps it is a sign of a more developed and busy global society.

The new study also found that very few of us can " save " time in modern life today. Among the study participants, 818 millionaires were asked about their daily spending habits, and more than half of them refused to spend money to hire people to do time-consuming jobs on their behalf.

98 random people who are asked what to spend if they have 40 USD alone, only 2% of transactions are used in services that help us save time . In other words, although it is a good thing to assign a task and spend more time on yourself, that's not what we all want to do.

" Although the use of money to free up time funds is extremely tight, it is not a bad choice, but very few people will do it even if they have a lot of money, " Elizabeth Dunn said.

There is a reason given that paying for cleaners or shopping for delivery makes many people feel unable to control their time.

Elizabeth Dunne asked Helen Briggs in the BBC: " Think about it, now there is something you need to do but you hate to do it if you are willing to hire someone else to do it. scientifically speaking, this is probably a good value for money . "

See also: New discovery: Drink 1 glass of wine has the same effect as 1 hour of gym

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