Can Money Buy you Happiness?

Pre discussion questions

How important do you think money is for happiness?

How much money do you need to be happy?

As humans, we are almost always trying to land the next job promotion or some other way to get more money.

But a new report can make us feel happier.

A study from the University of Cambridge discovered that money can buy happiness. But the secret, is not how much money you have. The secret is what you do with the money you have.

After analyzing people's personalities and money habits, they found people who spent more of their money on the activities and things that were important to them were more happy with their lives.

People should stop worrying too much about making more and more money. They should start thinking about how they can use the money they have to improve their happiness

The research analyzed nearly 77,000 purchases done by 625 people in Great Britain over six months. The purchases were put into 59 groups that were matched with different people’s personalities. For example if they were open to a new experience.  Or if someone has strong discipline or is easygoing.

The participants were also asked to answer surveys that gauged their personality types.  A survey was done on how happy they were with their lives.

Usually, people spent their money in ways that were similar to their personalities. For example, extroverts spent about $60 more a year at bars than introverts. And people who were careful about their health spent about $140 more a year on health and fitness than people who were less careful with health.

Researchers did a second experiment where people were given money and they had to spend it a special way. People who had to spend the money in a way that was the same as their personalities were happier with their experiences. Extroverts had to spend their money at a bar. At the bar they would be able to socialize. And they were happier with their experience than introverts who were sent to bars. And introverts who were sent to spend their money at a bookstore were happier than extroverts who were sent to bookstores.

But having more money available can still make life a little easier. Once people have enough money for basic things like somewhere to live and food, people may be more likely to have the income they need for other things and needs. And some people with low incomes may not have enough extra money to worry if their spending matches their personality or other goals.

But when you do have extra money it is important to think carefully about what you're really trying to accomplish. Many times we just buy things because other people have them. What we should do is decide if spending money on something will be on what will make us happy and not other people happy.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=3, B=1, C=8, D=4, E=2, F=7, G=6, H=5

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1.      The construction company was happy to land the contract to build the new department store.

2.      A business analyst looks at ways to improve a company’s way of doing things.

3.      People who live in California are much more easy going that New York.

4.      A lot of people participated in the social event.

5.      It is hard to gauge what the weather will be like next weekend.

6.      Extroverts feel comfortable making speeches in front of people, but introverts are scared.

7.      She felt introverted speaking English in front of many people.

8.      It is amazing what Korea has accomplished in only 20 years.

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1.      How did you land your first job?

2.      How do you think they analyzed people in the research?

3.      Are you an easygoing person? Why or why not?

4.      How would you feel if you participated in a survey like this?

5.      How do you gauge someone’s happiness? How do you gauge your own?

6.      Do you know someone who is an extrovert? Describe them?

7.      Do you think being introverted is the same as being shy? Why?

8.      What is something you want to accomplish?