Can Money Buy Happiness?
By Dr. James Palermo // June 14, 2013
SPEND ON OTHERS, EXPERIENCES RATHER THAN 'STUFF'
ABOVE VIDEO: We often hear it, but how true is the phrase ‘Money can’t buy happiness?’ Is there a correlation between the two, and if so, what can we learn from it? It turns out, if you think money and happiness are exclusive, you simply aren’t spending it right.
AsapSCIENCE is the creative brainchild of two Canadians, Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown, who, after graduating from the University of Guelph with biology degrees, recognized the power of YouTube to inform and entertain.
Their very popular YouTube channel produces three-minute lessons that bring logic, reason, and scientific evidence to some of the most common of questions, the ones that everybody’s asking and no one’s actually answering, such as The Scientific Power of Naps, What Causes a Hangover?, The Scientific Hangover Cure, The Science Of Aging, and The Science Of Hair Loss, just to name a few.
The pursuit of a productive career and a “good living” are priorities for most of us. In the video above, Moffitt and Brown tackle the veracity of the often heard phrase, “Money can’t buy happiness,” and whether or not there is a correlation between the two. They site evidence that money, if spent “right” and in the spirit of the Biblical passage: “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” can engender happiness.
However, for many there exists a threshold of financial struggle that is linked to unhappiness caused from a “hand-to-mouth” existence, limiting the inclination and ability to spend on others and on memorable, enjoyable personal experiences.
They point out that money is unlikely to be the main source of happiness, and, in fact, may complicate life, but has “the potential to make things easier,” and position us so that money “can buy happiness if spent in the right way.”
