Give for the joy of it

In a consumer-driven economy, Americans are nearly conditioned to believe that buying a designer handbag or the latest consumer electronic gadget is the path to happiness.

Deep down, most people know that accumulating material objects is not a ticket to happiness. In fact, science tells us that the road to happiness has more to do with giving one's time, special skills or money to others.

A new University of British Columbia study published in the journal Science shows that people who made gifts to charities reported they were happier than people who didn't share. For people who spent money on themselves, research confirms personal spending was unrelated to their happiness.

In one aspect of the study, researchers asked 46 college students to rate their happiness. Then, each was given an envelope containing cash, amounts ranging from $5 to $20. Some were told to buy a gift for someone else while others were instructed to spend it on themselves. Interestingly, the amount of money each had to spend had no direct impact on happiness. However, those who purchased an item for another person reported greater happiness than those who spent the money for something for themselves.

This suggests giving even a little can result in gains in happiness. That's good news because most of us will never be able to contribute to charities on the scale of Oprah Winfrey or Bill Gates. Making even small alternations to the manner in which we spend daily can make a difference in happiness, according to lead researcher Elizabeth W. Dunn. "As little as $5 may be enough to produce real gains in happiness on a given day," Dunn was quoted on a New York Times blog.

Why not put Dunn's findings to the test? Even a little dough can make a little difference. Seemingly, that's a small price for happiness.

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