Time is King

Evidence suggests you can buy happiness

Jack Boudreau
May 23, 2024

^{Weekly Trivia}

How many Americans are expected to drive 50+ miles over Memorial Day Weekend?

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA)

^Money^≠^{Happiness ?}

Now, you may not be able to buy happiness, but you can buy free time. And there’s evidence to suggest it’s just about the same thing.

(plus it’s not reserved just for wealthy millionaires)

Introduction

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School surveyed 6,000 adults across the US, Denmark, Canada and the Netherlands.

The goal was to understand how money, time and happiness relate to one another.

Trivia Answer: 38.4 Million (+4% YoY)

Their Findings & Conclusion

You may feel lazy when hiring a house cleaner or paying the kid next door to mow the lawn, but their results suggest those time saving purchases lead to greater life satisfaction.

Getty Images

“We thought the effects might only hold up for people with quite a bit of disposable income, but to our surprise, we found the same effects across the income spectrum.”

Elizabeth Dunn, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia

But why? Participants valued less end of day time pressure over material goods. Similarly, how we value a vacation over new clothes.

In other words, we like to have control how we spend our time.

A Word Of Caution

Spending too much money on delegating household chores or daily tasks could backfire.

Some of their findings suggest it could reinforce the idea we can’t handle everything ourselves, which can lead to a reduced sense of well-being.

My Key Takeaway

I pay someone to do my oil change and file my taxes. There’s value in saving time and knowing an expert is on top of it. It’s also why I hired a financial advisor.

Thanks for reading, Habits fam. See you back here next week for more.

-JB

Got feedback? Hit reply and tell me what you think…I’m always looking to level up.