Most people have heard that money can’t buy happiness. But the research says something more interesting: money can buy happiness if you stop spending it on the wrong things.
In this video, I look at the Easterlin Paradox, the research on income and life satisfaction, and why more money often fails to make people proportionally happier. The answer is not that money is useless. It’s that most people are shopping in the wrong aisle.
The evidence points to three better ways to spend:
Buy experiences, not things
Spend on other people
Buy back your time
Money matters. But it matters less than people think, and it works better when used to create memories, connection, autonomy, and relief from time pressure.
The wrong things are easy to buy. The right things take more intention.
