That's Fit

I'm a chip in the old stereotype about women and shopping. I loathe shopping with an absolute passion. I hate the crowds, I hate the time it takes weeding through tons of stuff just to find one thing, I hate spending too much money. I will just never understand the draw that so many people have to shopping for hours at a time. But this past Christmas (my first with my adopted son) I had so much fun buying presents for under the tree. Admittedly, I went a bit overboard... but I had such a wonderful time. (I still avoided the crowds, though; I did most of my shopping online.)

A recent study shows that while hikes in income can moderately increase happiness, spending money on others really boosts your mood. Researchers approached the topic in a variety of ways. They surveyed more than 600 people and found that those who spend some money annually on gifts to others and/or donations to charity were generally happier. Additionally, employees who gave some bonus money away in a pro-social manner were also more satisfied.