Money Can Buy A House

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Money can buy a house,
but not a home.
Money can buy a bed,
but not sleep.
Money can buy a clock,
but not time.
Money can buy a book,
but not knowledge.
Money can buy food, but
not an appetite.
Money can buy you
friends but not Love.

Everybody needs money and we all dream of being financially free someday…who doesn’t? But how we spend our hard-earned income or better yet, our lottery prize has a stronger impact on our happiness than the size of our bank accounts.

Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton suggest a better-and happier-way of spending money in their book, “Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending.” Surprisingly, their suggestions don’t include buying the latest gadgets and other materials people usually equate with happiness. As behavioural scientists, they’ve cracked the code to a more satisfying expenditure: spending money on others. Turns out, prosocial expenditure gives a higher degree of satisfaction and self-fulfilment than the highly encouraged personal expenditure. Buying the coolest sneakers may cover up for your insecurity for awhile, but buying shoes for that kid whose parents could barely buy a new one definitely makes you a happier and better person.

Even if it makes you a little poorer, the feeling of making a difference in someone else’s life can make you feel healthier and wealthier. For as little as $1, giving it away to someone in need can already create a feeling of warmth generated by an unselfish act. This altruistic happiness doesn’t have to cost a lot as long as you’re doing it sincerely and not just for show.

A great man of the name Winston Churchill remarked, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”