Whether or not money can buy happiness has been argued over and over in the time past and money not being a source of happiness always win the debate. According to Nobel-prive winning economist, Daniel Kanheman, you do not need beyond an annual income of $75,000 (almost 13,000,000 naira), which should more than enough to fund a comfortable lifestyle, to make you happy. The school of thought that money can not buy happiness is dependent on the hedonic adaptation theory. According to this theory, human brain only adjusts to what it senses; what’s new today becomes old tomorrow and so the same applies with the material things you buy with money. The thrill you get from the new phone or television you just got wears out as you get used to it. So, what is the use of the things acquired with money if they can provide a lasting feeling of satisfaction, excitement as the first time, argued some psychologists.
Well, according to a recent study published in a book written by Elizabeth Dun; an associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia and Michael Norton; an associate professor of Marketing at Harvard Business School titled “Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending”, money can buy you happiness. According to the writers, the key to having a long term happiness from the thing you purchase with your money is shifting the attention from buying stuff to experience and from spending on yourself to spending on others. These are the five principles, in summary, to buying happiness:
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