How To Buy Happiness With $10,000
New research offers compelling insights on how your spending choices today shape your happiness tomorrow
Imagine you open your bank account and find an unexpected $10,000.
No catches, no strings, just one condition: spend it however you like over the next 90 days.
How would you spend the $10,000?
According to a 2024 study, how you answer that question could have long-lasting effects on your happiness.
The $10,000 Happiness Experiment
In one of the most intriguing financial experiments of recent years, researchers gave 200 people across seven countries—including the U.S., U.K., Kenya, Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, and Australia—a substantial cash windfall of $10,000 each.
As a random side note, I can’t recall ever hearing of a study where people were simply handed this amount of cash before. This has to be one of the most well-funded finance studies I have ever seen.
Anyway, back to the study.
Participants were told they must spend he full $10,000 in the next three months and were asked to track their spending, recording every purchase along with how much happiness each transaction brought them. Researchers then measured their overall well-being and life satisfaction at the start of the experiment, after three months, and again after six months.
The study also explored a fascinating twist: half the participants had to publicly share details of their spending on social media platforms, while the other half kept their spending entirely private. An additional 100 people, who received no extra money, served as a control group.
The goal of this research was to identify exactly which spending choices lead to the most sustained increases in happiness.
In short, how do you buy happiness?
The Types of Spending That Actually Increase Happiness
Across all participants, regardless of country or income level, the data clearly showed some types of spending consistently made people happier:
Giving to others: Gifts and charitable donations were the strongest predictors of increased happiness.
Experiences over possessions: Spending on vacations, dinners out, or special events consistently brought higher happiness ratings than physical goods.
Education and self-improvement: Investing in personal growth (think taking an art class or buying books) provides lasting happiness benefits.
Personal care: Spending on fitness memberships, wellness products, or personal health items positively influenced happiness more than typical consumer goods.
These findings confirm something we've heard before but often overlook: how you spend money matters far more for your happiness than simply having more money.
Where you live Influences Money & Happiness
The researchers found another key insight, which is that the happiness gained from specific spending categories varied significantly depending on where participants lived.
In high-income countries, people reported greater happiness from giving gifts to others and using money to buy free time, like hiring a cleaner or ordering meal delivery.
In lower-income countries, participants reported feeling happiest when spending on necessities like housing improvements or paying down debt.
This tells us that there's no universal recipe for happiness. What brings joy to someone living in New York or Toronto isn't necessarily the same thing that improves lives in Nairobi.
Why Public Giving Isn't Always Better
Here’s a very unsurprising result: Participants who publicly shared their spending, especially giving to charities or buying gifts, reported notably less happiness from those transactions than participants who kept their generosity private.
Social Media platforms bring out the worst in people. Amazingly, if I posted that I gave $10,000 to a children's hospital on Twitter, I would expect to get mostly negative responses either from people accusing me of ‘virtue signalling’, calling me a liar, or somehow arguing that giving money to a children’s hospital is a bad thing.
I think it’s a safe rule of thumb to say that if you want to maximize happiness, delete all the social media apps from your phone.
What Should You Do?
You might now have a spare $10,000 sitting around to start spending over a 3-month period. But you don’t need to.
These findings give us a clear roadmap for happier spending, regardless of your current financial situation:
Prioritize giving and generosity: Even small gifts or charitable donations can significantly increase your happiness.
Invest in experiences: Whether it's a small weekend trip, concert tickets, or just a nice dinner out, experiences offer more lasting happiness than buying another gadget or piece of clothing.
Focus on self-improvement: Learning a new skill, enrolling in a course, or investing in your health not only brings immediate satisfaction but also contributes meaningfully to your long-term happiness.
Address your most pressing financial stresses first: Paying off a credit card or improving your housing situation might offer far greater emotional relief than indulgences if you’re financially stretched.
Final Thoughts
The key takeaway from this research isn’t just how fascinating it is to see people given a bag of cash to spend as they please (although again, this is undeniably cool to see.)
It’s about recognizing that every dollar you spend shapes your happiness.
You don't need a massive cash windfall to start making smarter, happiness-oriented spending decisions. Every small choice matters. Ask yourself, “Will this purchase bring me lasting happiness, or just a momentary thrill?”
Having more money alone can't (always) buy happiness, but spending it wisely—on people, experiences, self-growth, and meaningful generosity—most certainly can.
This article is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.
Being a person of modest means, my answer was the same.. I would have spent it on my kids and planning trips to scout a move to a more affordable state/country. Anytime I get extra money -a vacation check or the rare bonus- I think of my kids and grandkids, because it's not all the time that I have the extra, and it makes me feel good to do things for them. It makes me sad to not be able to do things or give them things, when I know they deserve it.