千金难买幸福感 为体验买单

Money can’t buy happiness, right? Well, not true. According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, over the past few years, new research has given us a much deeper understanding of the relationship between what we earn and how we feel. The results may seem a bit obvious: Yes, people with higher incomes are, broadly speaking, happier than those who struggle to get by. But the research also shows you have to spend strategically if you expect those bank notes to put a smile on your face. Here are some ways to better spend your money:

金钱真得买不到幸福么？也不尽然。最近，《华尔街日报》的一篇文章就指出，在过去的几年间，新的研究让我们对挣钱多少与心理感受间的关系有了更深刻的认识。研究结果有些显而易见，一般而言，有钱人确实会比挣扎在温饱线上的人更幸福。但是，研究也发现，合理消费才能使你在买单时更快乐。下面就奉上一些消费建议：

Buy experiences, not stuff.

相比实物，为体验买单。

In a recently published study, Ryan Howell, associate professor of psychology at San Francisco State University in the US, found that when people don’t have much money to spare, they tend to stick to material goods.

美国旧金山州立大学的心理学副教授瑞安?豪威尔最近发表的一项研究显示，当人们没有多余的钱可以支配时，总会选择购买物质产品。

“People think that experiences are only going to provide temporary happiness,” he told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. “… but they actually provide both more happiness and more lasting value.”

他在接受《华尔街日报》的采访时说：“人们认为体验只能带来暂时的幸福感，但事实上它们不仅能带来更大的幸福感，还具有更长久的价值。”

Buy lots of little things, rather than one big thing.

相比大件，入手一些小东西。

No matter how much money you spend on something and how special that product is, you will get used to having it over time and it will become just another object. People adapt to having new stuff, and anything that disrupts that adaptation is likely to prolong happiness, says an Atlantic article. Buying small things can give us frequent small pleasures that are different each time they occur, as they forestall adaptation.

《大西洋月刊》的一篇文章则写到：不管你在付钱时所买之物多么昂贵或是与众不同，随着时间的推移它都会失去新意，成为一件普通物品。追求新鲜是人的本性，而任何可以打破习惯之物都能带来更长久的幸福感。买一些小物件则能在上一件物品失去新意之前，不断带给我们新的愉悦感。

Buy what you like.

为心仪之物买单。

No keeping up with the Joneses. “There are a lot of reasons someone might buy something … but if the reason is to maximize happiness, the best thing for that person to do is purchase a life experience that is in line with their personality,” Howell tells Forbes. Howell recently co-authored a study finding that when people spend money just to project a certain image, it doesn’t bring happiness.

莫攀比！豪威尔在接受《福布斯》采访时就说，“让人掏钱的理由有千千万，但要获得最大的幸福感，就一定要为真正符合自己心意的人生体验买单。”他最近的一项合作研究发现，如果一个人只是为了塑造自己的某种形象而消费，那么他将很难获得幸福感。

Be sure to buy time, too.

时间也要算在内。

It’s also important to consider how what you’re buying will affect how you spend your time. For example, that big house in the suburbs may seem like a good idea, but according to The Wall Street Journal, a 2004 study by researchers from University of Zurich in Switzerland found that people with longer commutes reported lower overall life satisfaction, all other things being equal.

考虑到你的消费对自己时间的影响也很重要。比如，在郊区买一幢大房子也许是个不错的想法，但是据《华尔街日报》报道，2004年瑞士苏黎世大学研究人员进行的一项研究显示，在同等条件下，通勤时间较长的人整体生活幸福感较弱。

Try giving it away.

予人玫瑰，手留余香。

Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia in Canada, found that in countries as diverse as Canada, South Africa and Uganda, giving away money consistently made people happier. This was even true when people were giving away even when they themselves were relatively poor.

来自加拿大的不列颠哥伦比亚大学的心理学副教授伊丽莎白?邓恩则发现，不论在加拿大，还是在南非、乌干达等很多国家，时不时地向他人施舍钱财会让人感觉更幸福。而这也同样适用于并不富裕的人群，乐善好施也能为他们带来幸福感。