How to be smart when spending money for others
Scientific litsketch on boosting mental health
Sometimes, spending money on others may not lead to greater mental well-being. When does spending money on others not lead to greater happiness?
Research shows that spending money on others does not increase our happiness when (1) we can't see the difference our spending makes for them, (2) when we feel pressured to spend for them, and (3) when the giving does not make us feel more connected to them (Lok and Dunn, 2020). Knowing how the money is spent or used to help them gives us more happiness when we give money to others. Spending money on others makes us happier when we give out of our genuine desire to help. We feel happier when spending money on others makes us feel closer to them.
In an experiment, people were divided into two groups. Group One was asked to describe two recent experiences in which they spent money on another person or a cause that made them feel happy. Group Two was asked to describe two recent experiences of spending money on others that did not make them feel happy. Next, both groups were asked about how much impact they thought they had made, how much they were driven by their own choice and how strongly they felt connected with the person or the cause as a result of spending money on the person or the cause.
The results showed that Group One that described about the experiences of spending money on others that made them feel happy felt greater sense of impact, choice and social connection compared to Group Two. Knowing exactly how the money that was donated for a cause has been spent, or the impact it has had on the recipient, feeling that you have spent the money because you cared about the person or the cause rather than because you felt pressured, and feeling a greater connection with the cause or the recipient increase the amount of happiness we get when we spend money on others.
When you spend money on others next time, know exactly what the impact of the money is for the person or the charity, give as you have decided in your heart, not reluctantly or under pressure, and seek to strengthen your connection with the person or the cause. This will further increase your happiness.
Lok, I., & Dunn, E. W. (2020). Under what conditions does prosocial spending promote happiness?. Collabra: Psychology, 6(1).