Benjamin Franklin once said: “Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants” and so, throughout time the saying that “money can’t buy happiness” took hold as conventional wisdom. Now thoroughly confirmed by science, it is established that a higher income, higher gross domestic product, and higher spending are not necessarily related to greater feeling of happiness in life. However, according to psychologist Sandra Matz, these statements are not completely true.

Benjamin Franklin once said: “Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants” and so, throughout time the saying that “money can’t buy happiness” took hold as conventional wisdom. Now thoroughly confirmed by science, it is established that a higher income, higher gross domestic product, and higher spending are not necessarily related to greater feeling of happiness in life. However, according to psychologist Sandra Matz from the University of Cambridge, these statements are not completely true. At TEDxUHasselt 2017, in her talk entitled “How money can buy you happiness”, Matz will argue that if money is well spent it can be a contributing factor to our general happiness. She will explain that if one stops worrying about making more and more money, but rather focuses on spending it in a meaningful way that meets psychological needs, preferences, and true motivations.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx