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Advice / Succeeding at Work / Money

The Secret to Being Happy Does Involve Money, But Not in the Way You Think

For every $10 I spend on myself, I spend $1 on other people. Before you judge me, know that I’m not getting that number from my Mint account or credit card statement. I’m getting it from this Happify infographic, which says that the average ratio of money we use on ourselves compared to others is 10:1.

We all know (at least in the back of our minds), that buying a thoughtful gift for a friend or donating to an organization can feel much more fulfilling than buying another shirt. In fact, it can make us happy! But, even though we know that, we often forgot that feeling and choose to buy something for ourselves.

Check out the infographic for some ways we can convince ourselves to put down that shirt (even if it’s on sale), and change that ratio. All in the pursuit of happiness, right?


Infographic courtesy of Happify, a website and app dedicated to building happiness skills through scientifically designed activities and games. Photo of happiness key courtesy of Shutterstock.