Why Giving Might Be the Best Investment You Ever Make

This one was sparked by Dr. Daniel Crosby’s book The Soul of Wealth, specifically a short chapter on the link between giving and happiness. The research behind it is worth taking seriously: giving, rather than spending on yourself, consistently correlates with a happier life — and the effect shows up at every income level, not just once you’ve “made it.”

Felt wealth isn’t only about net worth

Crosby uses the term “felt wealth” — how wealthy someone actually feels, which turns out to depend on more than the number on a net worth statement. Two factors drive it: your actual level of wealth, and how much you give. The second partis the interesting one — regardless of where someone sits financially, giving more correlates with feeling wealthier. The dollar amount doesn’t appear to be the deciding factor. The act itself is.

Why generosity feels so good, physiologically

There’s real science behind this, not just a nice sentiment. Allan Luks, former executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York, surveyed regular volunteers and found that acts of kindness are measurably cardioprotective —they relax and widen blood vessels, lower blood pressure, and reduce strain on the heart. Regular volunteers in his research were roughly ten times more likely to report being in good health than non-volunteers, an effect researchers link to reduced stress and an endorphin release sometimes called the “helper’s high.” Separate neuroscience research (a widely cited 2007 study on what’s been dubbed the “warm glow” effect) found that choosing to give lights up the brain’s reward circuitry more strongly than other comparable activities.

It doesn’t take a grand gesture to feel this. Paying for the order behind you in a drive-thru line costs almost nothing, but it reliably produces a small, genuine lift — for you, and often for the stranger who then pays it forward to the next person in line. Scale and dollar amount aren’t the active ingredient here; the decision to give is.

The four things money can actually buy that lead to happiness

Setting aside the pure joy of giving for a moment: research from Dunn and Norton, referenced in Crosby’s work, narrows down the categories of spending that reliably correlate with happiness to just four. Buying time freedom — paying to get out of tasks you dislike, like hiring a house cleaner. Spending on experiences with people you love — time with friends and family. Novelty —travel, or anything that breaks the routine of daily life. And giving money away.

Put those together and a fairly common scenario stands out: a parent or grandparent treating family to a trip. That single decision touches three of the four categories at once — novelty, shared experience with loved ones, and generosity. (Hire a travel agent to handle the logistics you don’t enjoy, and you’d hit all four.)

Making giving part of the plan, not an afterthought

The most practical parallel here is to investing: waiting until you have “enough” to start is the wrong instinct. Small and consistent giving beats large and occasional, the same way consistent modest investing beats waiting for a bigger ump sum. The starting point is simple — when mapping out a personal cash flow plan, decide on a dollar amount for giving alongside every other committed expense. Start small if that’s what fits; the amount matters far less than making it a consistent line item.

From there, the more enjoyable part is deciding where it goes — whatever genuinely matters to you, whether that’s a specific cause, the arts, sports, the environment, or something else entirely. It doesn’t need to be a single recipient, either; some households spread giving across several causes they each care about, with multiple modest line items in the cash flow plan rather than one larger one.

Giving also doesn’t have to be financial. Among the chiropractors we work with, some of the most common forms of giving are mentoring newer doctors, volunteering time with professional associations, training and bringing on associates, or contributing energy and resources toward advancing the profession itself —interest in a new chiropractic school program is a recent example that’s come up with several clients. Time and mentorship carry the same fulfillment benefit as a financial contribution.

The tax benefit is real — but it’s not the point

Notably, none of the happiness research above has anything to do with tax policy. That said, the financial incentive is worth knowing: in Alberta, charitable donations above roughly $200 a year qualify for a tax credit around 50% of the amount given. That’s a meaningful bonus, but it works best as a bonus — a donation made purely at year-end to offset a surprise tax bill can still make sense in a given year, but it won’t deliver the same ongoing sense of fulfillment as giving that’s planned and consistent, built into the financial plan rather than triggered by a phone call from your accountant every December.

The takeaway

Giving, in whatever form fits your life — money, time, mentorship — shows up as one of the most reliable, well-documented paths to genuine happiness, independent of how much wealth you’ve actually built. Treat it the same way you’d treat any other meaningful financial goal: decide on an amount, build it into the plan, start small if needed, and let it grow alongside everything else.

Listen to episode 042 ofThe Chiro Money Show →

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