Twoprofessorscombinetheirfascinatingandcutting-edgeresearchinbehavioralsciencetoexplainhowmoneycanbuyhappiness--ifyoufollowfivecoreprinciplesofsmartspending.Mostpeoplerecognizethattheyneedprofessionaladviceonhowtoearn,save,andinvesttheirmoney.Whenitcomestospendingthatmoney,mostpeoplejustfollowtheirintuitions.Butscientificresearchshowsthatthoseintuitionsareoftenwrong.HappyMoneyoffersatourofresearchonthescienceofspending,explaininghowyoucangetmorehappinessforyourmoney.AuthorsElizabethDunnandMichaelNortonhaveoutlinedfiveprinciples--fromchoosingexperiencesoverstufftospendingmoneyonothers--toguidenotonlyindividualslookingforfinancialsecurity,butalsocompaniesseekingtocreatehappieremployeesandprovide“happierproducts“totheircustomers.DunnandNortonshowhowcompaniesfromGoogletoPepsitoCharminhaveputtheseideasintoaction.Alongtheway,DunnandNortonexplorefascinatingresearchthatrevealsthatluxurycarsoftenprovidenomorepleasurethaneconomymodels,thatcommercialscanactuallyenhancetheenjoymentofwatchingtelevision,andthatresidentsofmanycitiesfrequentlymissoutoninexpensivepleasuresintheirhometowns.Bytheendofthis“livelyandengagingbook“(DanGilbert,authorofStumblingonHappiness),you’llbeaskingyourselfonesimplequestioneverytimeyoureachforyourwallet:AmIgettingthebiggesthappinessbangformybuck?
