Thursday, February 17, is Random Acts of Kindness Day! And speaking of random acts of kindness, Martin Seligman, the "father of positive psychology," led a study that found that people who perform random acts of kindness saw a huge and long-lasting happiness boost.

And speaking of happiness, there are more than 18,000 articles delving into the age-old question: Can money buy happiness? While some research shows a positive correlation between money and happiness, most studies suggest there is a negligible relationship between the two once we have enough to ensure our basic needs are met. The research also reveals that when employees leave their workplaces for greener pastures, those lusher pastures often have less to do with money and more to do with other factors, such as work/life balance, autonomy, feeling under-valued, or wanting to escape a soul-sucking, fun-sucking workplace.

But are there more deliberate ways we could spend our hard-earned money that would make us happier? According to Elizabeth Dunn, author of Happy Money, here are some ways to maximize our happiness based on our spending habits:
 

• Buy experiences not stuff. Happiness tends to increase with the passage of time with experiences; with material purchases happiness tends to diminish over time.
• Even though employees say they would prefer a cash bonus as a reward, they report feeling happier afterwards when they are given experiential gifts.
• Spending money to free up time creates a stronger happiness boost than purchasing "stuff." 
• Making your purchase a special treat vs. a daily expectation increases happiness (e.g., treating yourself to a weekly mocha cappuccino vs a daily one).
• Anticipation boosts happiness, so paying for something experiential beforehand, like a vacation, significantly boosts happiness levels.
• Helping others and spending our money on others makes us feel happier.
• More frequent, smaller pleasures make us happier. Giving someone $10 a day for five days makes them feel happier than if they get $50 all at once; three 30-minute massages spread out over a week make us feel happier than when we receive one 90-minute massage.   
• When in doubt buy chocolate. Okay, this one isn't cited in the research, it just comes from me. But seriously, is there any doubt?