Can Money Buy Happiness?

Actually… we believe yes, but with some caveats.  We think the key to success rests in the following points:

1.  Choosing Experiences Over Things – Acquiring life experiences will make you happier than pursuing material possessions, according to a study by Leaf Van Boven, a University of Colorado psychologist. Materialism, on the other hand, makes people less happy and satisfied.

2.  Invest in Relationships – People with five or more close friends, not including family members, are 50 percent more likely to describe themselves as “very happy” than respondents with fewer, according to NORC’s 2004 General Social Survey.

Northern Trust did a piece that we sent to our clients five year’s ago that does a great job of enforcing these points and others, so click the link to read the complete article:  Northern Article_Can Money Bring You Happiness

We thought this was worth dusting off… and sending out again.