Money Can Buy Happiness

...if you know how to spend it. Summary of points from Coding Horror:

• After a certain point, more money does not automatically mean more happiness. That point, according to the study referenced, is about US$75,000.
• Buy experiences rather than things
• Help others instead of yourself
• Buy many small pleasures instead of only a few big ones
• Commit; spend less on extended warranties and options to return purchases.
• Anticipation is good; save up for a purchase rather than using credit.
• Think about how much you'll actually use and enjoy what you're considering purchasing.
• Beware of comparison shopping; that tells you whether A is better than B, but not whether you'll enjoy A at all.
• Follow the herd; if something makes a lot of other people happy, it's likely to make you happy also. (But be aware the herd gets a lot of stuff which they think will make them happy, then it doesn't.)