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Liz Weston: How to get more joy while giving to good 原因（となる）s

Published: 12:17 BST, 17 January 2022 | Updated: 12:48 BST, 17 January 2022

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We may think spending money on ourselves will make us happier than spending it on someone else. That belief can make it hard to carve money out of our 予算s to give to good 原因（となる）s.

But 研究 shows that spending money on others is more likely to make us happy. This seems to be a 世界的な現象, and one that 適用するs whether we have a lot of money or only a little.

"Generosity and happiness are pretty 明確に linked in the 研究," says Kristy Archuleta, a professor of 財政上の planning at the University of Georgia. "When we are generous of our time, our talents, giving to others in whatever 肉親，親類d of capacity we can, we tend to be happier."

Some generous 行為／法令／行動するs create more 肯定的な feelings than others, however. Here´s what to consider if you want to maximize your happiness while helping others.

MAKE IT SOCIAL

Canadian social psychologist Lara Aknin says she´s been 利益／興味d in the emotional 利益s of 財政上の generosity since she was about 8 and daydreaming ways she could help other people.

"I remember thinking if I save $10, I could give it to my parents and they could go out for dinner," she laughs. "I 明確に had no 概念 of money (because) I thought $10 would give them an evening out on the town."

As a 卒業生（する） student, Aknin 調査／捜査するd ways money could 改善する井戸／弁護士席-存在 and 設立する that "prosocial spending" - spending on others - was a source of happiness. In その後の研究, Aknin - now a distinguished associate professor at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia - 決定するd that giving was most rewarding when it 申し込む／申し出d a social 関係 . Instead of sending someone a gift card to a restaurant, for example, we´ll feel happier if we take them out to dinner, Aknin says.

Volunteering can connect us with others, as can 組織するing or …に出席するing a fundraiser. Giving a group gift or 寄付 is another way to up the social factor, Aknin says.

INVESTIGATE YOUR IMPACT

We also want to know that our giving 事柄s. 存在 able to see or 想像する the change our 出資／貢献s will make tends to 増加する our happiness, Aknin says.

In a 2013 熟考する／考慮する led by Aknin , 関係者s were given a choice to 寄付する to one of two charities 献身的な to 改善するing children´s health in 貧窮化した areas: UNICEF and Spread the 逮捕する . Spread the 逮捕する申し込む／申し出d a 固める／コンクリート example of a 寄付´s 衝撃 by 明示するing that every $10 given would buy a lifesaving mosquito 逮捕する. UNICEF did not 供給する such 詳細（に述べる）s. 関係者s who 寄付するd to Spread the 逮捕する felt happier after their 出資／貢献, but those who gave to UNICEF did not, 研究員s 設立する.

"The more （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） we have about the 肯定的な衝撃 of our gifts, the greater the emotional rewards," Aknin says.

This doesn´t mean you shouldn´t give money to UNICEF, of course. But you may get more satisfaction from your 寄付 if you read stories about the organization´s 衝撃 or peruse its 年次の報告（する）／憶測 .

EMPHASIZE CHOICE

Want to take the joy out of giving? Make it an 義務, Aknin says. For 最大限 happiness, people need to have a choice about whether to give, to whom and how much.

"If people feel caught or 軍隊d or 強いるd, these emotional rewards いつかs disappear or can be 厳しく鈍らせるd," she says.

You can 増加する your sense of 自治 by planning your charitable giving, says Archuleta, a certified 財政上の therapist and co-創立者 of the 財政上の Therapy 協会 . Think about what you value, 調査／捜査する nonprofits that support those values and consider making recurring 出資／貢献s part of your 予算, she 示唆するs.

If you´re trying to encourage your children to be charitable, consider letting them choose the 原因（となる） and how much to 寄付する. (You can 申し込む／申し出指導基準s, such as giving away a nickel, a 薄暗い or a ４半期/4分の1 of every dollar they receive.) Find ways to 論証する their 衝撃: $20 might buy a flock of chickens for a family through Heifer Interna tional , for example, or 料金d a 避難所 pet for a few weeks. And encourage them to make social 関係s by volunteering or fundraising with friends.

"Giving in the more rewarding ways is important, not only because you feel good in the moment, but that warm glow will be one factor that encourages you to give again," Aknin says.

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This column was 供給するd to The Associated 圧力（をかける） by the personal 財政／金融 website NerdWallet. Liz Weston is a columnist at NerdWallet, a certified 財政上の planner and the author of "Your Credit 得点する／非難する／２０." Email: lweston@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @lizweston.