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Sign In| Sign Up | Subscribe My WebMD Show Menu * My Tools * My WebMD Pages * My Account * Sign Out FacebookTwitterPinterest WebMD Home next page Health & Balance Center next page Health & Balance Feature Stories Email a Friend Print Article Health & Balance Tools & Resources * 10 Tips to Zap Stress * Sniff, Smile to Stop Stress * 10 Health Myths Debunked * 9 Types of Yoga to Try * Bust Clutter in Your Home * Quick Tips to Reduce Stress Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker Font Size A A A Spend Your Way to Happiness? Money and happiness: 5 ways your spending style matters. By Katherine Kam WebMD Feature Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD WebMD Archive “Money can’t buy me love,” the Beatles once sang. But can greenbacks buy a measure of happiness? Yes, psychologists say, but many people don’t know how to spend for maximum happiness. Recommended Related to Mind, Body, Spirit The Natural Home: An Insider's Guide By Monica Michael Willis and Emily Wolahan. Photographed by William P. Steele Use these easy tips and resources to improve indoor air quality and raise the health quotient of your home. Read the The Natural Home: An Insider's Guide article > > “Money is an opportunity for happiness, but it is an opportunity that people routinely squander because the things they think will make them happy often don’t,” says Elizabeth W. Dunn, PhD, associate professor of psychology at Canada's University of British Columbia. As a young academic, Dunn had a personal stake in figuring out how to best spend one’s money. “I went from being a graduate student, making around $20,000 a year, to being a faculty member. While most people don’t think of professors as being wealthy, I suddenly found myself like ‘the nouveau riche,’ with a lot more money than I had previously,” she tells WebMD. Being a psychology researcher, she sought scientifically based advice on how to spend her money -- not in terms of making financial investments, but to boost life satisfaction. “I was surprised to find out there was actually very little research on that topic,” she says. As she delved into the subject, she discovered that people often misjudge purchases on three counts: “People mispredict what will make them happy, how happy it will make them, and how long that happiness will last.” Puddles of Pleasure, Peaks of Presumption Other experts agree with Dunn’s view. Purchases, such as a remodeled bathroom or a new couch, may bestow delight, but the pleasure often vanishes faster than people expect -- “like a springtime puddle evaporates under a stifling summer sun,” says Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside, and author of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want. Take that remodeled bathroom, for example. At first, it’s a joy, but those positive feelings dwindle until the bathroom becomes ordinary and “completely fades into the background of one’s conscious experience," Lyubomirsky says. Furthermore, all those sparkling, new bath fixtures may heighten expectations and desires, creating a “lofty peak of presumption” that drives people to become dissatisfied and strive for more and more, Lyubomirsky says. “After one finishes remodeling one’s bathroom, the living room and bedroom now seem drab by comparison. People’s rising aspirations render rooms eyesores that were previously normal.” 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Next Page > Continue reading below... Top Picks * Take the Stress Out of Holiday Travel * Always Tired? 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Benefits of Yoga * 2. Colon Cleanse * 3. How to Relieve Stress * 4. Caffeine * 5. Bee Pollen * 6. Holistic Medicine * 7. Causes of Stress * 8. Cupping * 9. Stress Symptoms * 10. Stress Management * 11. Acupressure Points * 12. Transcendental Meditation Related to Balance * Anxiety & Panic Disorders * Mental Health * Smoking Cessation * Stress Management * Substance Abuse & Addiction * More Related Topics Today on WebMD woman in yoga class Strike a Pose 6 health benefits of yoga. beautiful girl lying down of grass Stressed Out? 10 relaxation techniques to try. mature woman with glass of water 10 Health Myths Debunked Do you really need to drink 8 glasses of water a day? coffee beans in shape of mug Does Caffeine Have Health Benefits? Get the facts. Take your medication Slideshow 10 Health Myths Debunked highlighted colon Article Are Natural Colon Cleanses Necessary? 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