What Can You Buy That Will Actually Make You Happy

When you spend money, are you buying something that actually makes you happy? We spend money in a variety of ways.  We also seem to do it with the hopes that what we buy will make us happy.  Well, there’s research to now show that there are some ways spending money and buying something that CAN actually make us happy.

Elizabeth Dunn PhD, chief science officer for the technology firm Happy Money and author of “Happy Money: The Science for Happier Spending” has drawn some conclusions from her work.

Let’s start with this.  She suggests identifying which purchases make you happy, and which ones don’t.  Now she goes on to say that much of our spending is a habit.  We always stop at McDonald’s in the morning for an Egg McMuffin.  It’s what we did yesterday, it’s what we’ll do today.  But does that purchase actually make us happy?

She has determined that there are five ways we can spend money that will actually make us happy.

First, and I bet you could guess this one, experiences.  She says, “people feel that their experiential purchases contribute more to their life stories”.  Think about the PLACES you’ve gone.  The things you’ve SEEN.  Aren’t they more important than that breakfast sandwich?

Another way it helps is, she says, to make it a treat.  If you have dessert every day, it becomes less special.  If you have it every once in a while, that makes it more special.

I thought her third way was interesting, buying time.  Wasn’t sure at first what she meant.  She’s talking about spending money on something that saves you from having to do it.  Think cleaning service.  That’s a way of spending money that really matters.

Also, paying for something now and consuming it later.  I brought up on the air this morning that because we had to cancel our vacation last year, the plane tickets we bought went unused.  Now, we’re planning on flying to Denver in May and we’re going to use the credit we have with the airline.  It’s kind of like we’re going for free.

Lastly, and maybe the most important one.  Invest in others.  If you can spend money and it actually benefits OTHER PEOPLE, then you get a ton of happiness out of that.

Think about if the material thing you’re spending money on ACTUALLY makes you happy.  If it does, that’s great.  But if it doesn’t you might want to rethink some of your spending habits.

Ben and Jerry's new flavors couldn't be more different from each other. The popular New England based ice cream brand has added three options to their creative family so far this year, and here I will rank them all.

Coincidentally, I tried each of these in one sitting. This was an unplanned taste test. With a house full of young kids, a visiting friend recently stopped by and knew the way to quickly win over the youngsters. Pints of ice cream.

Before I get into explaining which was best, I should note I am not an ice cream (or dessert) enthusiast by any means. Dare I say, I hardly seek out ice cream, even in the summer months. However, if it is put in front of me, I will eat it if it's one of my favorite varieties.

If I'm going for ice cream, though, Ben and Jerry's is easily my brand of choice. Being a New Englander, I have toured their Vermont location a handful of times. Their half-baked in a cone is my go-to choice.

If you are not familiar, these are the Ben and Jerry's new flavors that have rolled out in 2024. Impretzively Fudged, PB S'More, and Marshmallow Sky. Now, it's important to note that Marshmallow Sky is new just to pints. Meaning, it was available in their scoop shops only.

Another flavor entitled Strawberry Cheezecake was also unveiled earlier this year. This did not qualify here as a new flavor ranking because it had been an ice cream flavor (branded "cheesecake). The new "cheeze" version is a vegan dairy-free dessert.

Upon seeing these at my house, I realized they were new. So, instead of selecting one pint to scoop, I took one for the team and realized I needed one proper scoop of each.

My process was to try one at a time and not have all three in the same bowl. Blending flavors might compromise the intended taste.

As a result, there was a flavor where one bite was enough. Another where I couldn't get enough, and the third was somewhere in between.

Here is my official ice cream ranking of Ben and Jerry's new flavors.

It's chocolate ice cream with fudge covered pretzel pieces and pretzel swirl. The problem here is that I do not like chocolate covered pretzels. Oddly enough, I love pretzels alone. Dip them in sugar and ice cream and it either compromises the flavor or classifies as "too much." So, this was my least favorite.

Here we have toasted marshmallow ice cream with peanut butter cups, graham cracker pieces, and marshmallow swirl. The graham crackers are the star of this show. They pair better with the ice cream and chocolate than the typical marshmallow of a S'More. This was certainly a tasty delight, but I feel if the marshmallow swirl did not need to be invited to the party.

Admittedly, I was a little cautious about the blue ice cream color thinking it could suffer from cotton candy syndrome (where too much equals upset stomach city). That is not the case here. It's marshmallow ice cream with swirls, and then chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough. The latter of the cookie dough bites just brings this to another level. Some sweets get forced together and some just belong together and make each other better. That's the case here. It's no wonder Ben and Jerry's decided to promote this flavor. It tastes as cheerful as it looks.