WEBVTT - How to buy happiness

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>This week we're talking about money related topics. Time and

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<v Speaker 1>money are both scarce resources, and it's good to be

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<v Speaker 1>careful with both. Today's tip is about ways to use

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<v Speaker 1>money as a tool to build a better life, or

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<v Speaker 1>in other words, how to buy happiness. Now, while we

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<v Speaker 1>all have the same amount of time, people have wildly

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<v Speaker 1>varying amounts of money. If your idea of a good

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<v Speaker 1>time is flying by private jet to a resort on

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<v Speaker 1>the Mediterranean, it's obviously going to require quite a bit

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<v Speaker 1>of cash to pull that off. But most of life

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<v Speaker 1>isn't about that resort. A life has lived in hours,

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<v Speaker 1>and a lot of happiness is influenced by how we

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<v Speaker 1>spend our normal, everyday hours. The good news is that

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<v Speaker 1>even small amounts of money can boost happiness if we

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<v Speaker 1>spend this money wise lee with an eye on those

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<v Speaker 1>everyday hours. In other words, money can buy happiness if

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<v Speaker 1>you spend it right. The first category for buying happiness

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<v Speaker 1>spend on experiences. Experiences, because they tend to be varied

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<v Speaker 1>and novel, create memories. As we've talked about on this

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<v Speaker 1>podcast before. Having more memories makes us feel like we

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<v Speaker 1>have more time. The dining room table that you use

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<v Speaker 1>once a year doesn't really do that. You might be

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<v Speaker 1>better off taking that trip to Rome that you'll remember

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<v Speaker 1>forever and getting a much cheaper table. In my family,

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<v Speaker 1>we try to operate under this philosophy. We buy the

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<v Speaker 1>kid's clothes at discount stores and hand down whatever lasts

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<v Speaker 1>from kid to kid, but we've brought memberships that most

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<v Speaker 1>of the major family friendly institutions in the area, the zoo,

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<v Speaker 1>the children's museum, the science museum, the aquarium. This way

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<v Speaker 1>we always have fun activities we can do together on

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<v Speaker 1>the weekend. The second category is to spend money to

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<v Speaker 1>buy time. As we've talked about this week time is

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<v Speaker 1>in some sense is more limited than money. You can

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<v Speaker 1>make more money, but you cannot make more time. So

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<v Speaker 1>if there's a place where you can spend a modest

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<v Speaker 1>amount of cash to move time from the unhappy category

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<v Speaker 1>to the happy category, this could be a big win.

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<v Speaker 1>If you dislike mowing the lawn, pay a service and

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<v Speaker 1>free up your Saturday. In my family, if two of

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<v Speaker 1>the big kids have simultaneous sports events on a weekend,

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<v Speaker 1>my husband and I will each go to one and

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<v Speaker 1>then sometimes will hire a sitter to come play with

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<v Speaker 1>the littler kids. This way we can actually watch our

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<v Speaker 1>kids games instead of missing a kid's goal because we're

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<v Speaker 1>trying to keep the preschooler from running into the parking lot.

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<v Speaker 1>This is definitely a way to buy happiness. And finally,

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<v Speaker 1>you can buy happiness by spending money on relationships. Time

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<v Speaker 1>spent with close family and friends is often the most

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<v Speaker 1>pleasant time we have. When I did a time diary

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<v Speaker 1>study of nine days in the lives of busy people

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<v Speaker 1>for my book Off the Clock, I found that people's

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<v Speaker 1>sense of time abundance rose in direct correlation to how

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<v Speaker 1>much of their leisure time they spent with friends and family.

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<v Speaker 1>People who felt starved for time watch TV or peruse

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<v Speaker 1>social media. People who felt time was abundant made plans

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<v Speaker 1>with friends, and they were happier for it. One great

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<v Speaker 1>idea take her friend out to lunch. Spending money on

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<v Speaker 1>her will make you happy, and you'll also get time

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<v Speaker 1>with her. And then even better, she'll probably reciprocate, so

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<v Speaker 1>you'll get too happy lunches instead of just one. What

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<v Speaker 1>could be better than that? In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>be for Breakfast pod that's B the number four, then

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an

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<v Speaker 1>email at before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com

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<v Speaker 1>that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

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