The term "retail therapy" is a bit of a misnomer. Sure, buying yourself something expensive can improve your mood, but the boost is often temporary. In fact, you usually end up feeling worse later on （like when your credit card bill arrives）.

    Fortunately, there are ways to spend your money - even if you don't have much of it - that will bring you true long-term happiness. Over the past 25 years, behavioral economists and psychologists have been examining the connection between money and mood, and they've made some intriguing discoveries. Using their research, Women's Health identified five simple ways to reallocate your budget so that you feel more bliss.

    Spend money on a vacation instead of spa treatments

    In need of some serious R&R? A mani-pedi or massage might seem like the perfect way to pamper yourself. After all, compared to a trip, these things go for chump change. But experts say putting some distance between you and your daily surroundings is a much better way to de-stress and is worth the expenditure. In a study published in the journal Occupational Medicine, researchers found that vacations not only had a positive effect on short-term happiness but also a beneficial impact on people's long-term mental and physical well-being.

    More good news: "It's not just the vacation itself that'll make you happier, but the potential perspective you'll gain on your getaway, which can lead you to a happier life," says Alan Lysaght, a financial psychology expert and coauthor of The ABCs of Making Money. "Breaking free from your usual routine gives you a chance to take stock of your life and figure out the kinds of changes you need to make to be happier." Can't swing a far-flung trip right now? Even a weekend spent at a local B&B can work wonders.

    Spend money on makeup instead of clothes

    It's as simple as this: When you look good, you feel good. But that mood booster doesn't have to be a big-ticket item.

    According to a study conducted by BuzzBack Market Research, beauty products - even the drugstore kind - are a more satisfying purchase than a chic new addition to your wardrobe. As crazy as it sounds, studies have found that during economic downturns, lipstick sales actually spike. （Economists call it the Lipstick Effect.）

    One possible reason: There's something satisfying about adding a little bit of luxury to your life - and even if you're strapped for cash, you can usually fit a lip gloss into your budget. "And unlike a dress you wear every once in a while, that tube of lipstick will provide a daily pick-me-up," Lysaght says.

    Spend money on your bedroom instead of your living room

    Generally, when people splurge on a home upgrade, they focus their expenditure on a room that guests spend time in - for example, they'll buy a sofa for the living room or granite countertops for the kitchen. But those might not be the best places to invest your home happiness dollars.

    One recent study found that the cities where residents got the most restful night's sleep were also the places where people's happiness levels were highest. "The bedroom is where you relax and unwind," says Denis Cauvier, Ph.D., a business consultant and Lysaght's co-author. And when you consider that we spend a third of our lives in bed, investing in a new mattress, soft 600-thread-count sheets, or heavy-duty light-blocking window shades makes a lot of sense. In fact, you'll reap one of the most priceless things of all: a good night's sleep.

    Spend money on a gym membership instead of home equipment

    You might think you'd be a lot more likely to work out if you have a treadmill, stationary bike, or weight machine sitting right in your basement. Not necessarily. According to a recent survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, 37 percent of respondents admitted that they use their home equipment less frequently than they expected to.

    One possible reason: Working out with other people at the gym makes those sweatfests more enjoyable - and when people have fun exercising, they're more likely to stick with it, reveals an article published in the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. What's more, merging your workout with your social life will help you fit two important tasks into your overbooked calendar at once.

    "The gym basically automates your time with friends," explains Laura Rowley, author of "Money and Happiness: A Guide to Living the Good Life" and a financial columnist for Yahoo Finance. "You can see people you really want to see, which makes you happy and makes the expense feel worth it." If that's not enough of a reason to shell out that monthly fee, consider this: While you can slack off on the treadmill in your basement without anyone knowing, that militant spin instructor isn't going to go as easy on you. So in the long run, you'll be much happier with the results, too.

    Spend money on others instead of yourself

    If you want instant gratification, give some of your money away. In one experiment, researchers handed out $5 and $20 bills to students, asking half to spend it on themselves and half to dole the dollars out to other people. Those who gave the cash away reported feeling happier at the end of the day.

    "Not many things contribute to our happiness more than generosity," says Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph. D., a former Harvard lecturer and the author of "Happier." Consider donating $25 per month to your favorite cause （which you can deduct come tax time）. Don't have a cause close to your heart? Check out charitynavigator.org, which catalogs organizations by topic （animals, environment, health, etc.） and even rates charities, so you can be certain your contribution really will make a difference.

    Or do something good close to home: Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School have found that we're more motivated to help others when we have some personal connection to them. Find local charities that strike a chord - food pantries, the humane society, a homeless shelter, or a local museum or library - and write a check to help them out. On a smaller scale, treating a friend to lunch for her birthday or buying your boyfriend his favorite flavor of ice cream can make you feel warm and fuzzy, too.

    關(guān)于這個術(shù)語"購物療法",實際上有一點點誤稱。當(dāng)然，給你自己買一點貴的東西可以改善你的心境，但是改善只是暫時的。事實上，你事后通常情緒會更加低落（比如你的信用卡賬單來的時候）.

    幸運的是，現(xiàn)在有一些方法可以花錢--即使你并沒有很多錢--來帶給你長期的幸福感。在過去的25年中，行為經(jīng)濟學(xué)家和心理學(xué)家曾做過一個實驗，檢驗金錢和心境之間的紐帶。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些有趣的調(diào)查結(jié)果。根據(jù)他們的研究，《女性健康》發(fā)現(xiàn)可以通過五種重新分配你的預(yù)算方法來達到更多的幸福感。

    把錢花在旅行上，而不是礦泉療法

    因為一些事情的需要，一次修甲或者按摩看起來是對自己的一種款待。畢竟，和旅行相比較，這些事情所需要的錢較少。但是專家指出，離開你周圍日常的環(huán)境，到遠方去旅游一次，是一種更好的減壓方法。而且，它值得你為它支出。在一項刊登在《職業(yè)病學(xué)》雜志上的研究表明，旅行不僅對營造短期的幸福感有積極地作用，而且對人們長期的身心愉悅有很好的促進作用。

    更有甚者，"并不僅僅是旅行本身可以給你帶來愉悅感，起作用的還有你在旅途中得到的那些潛在可以把你帶往一個更加幸福的生活的看法，"金融心理學(xué)家、《賺錢ABC》合著者艾倫·萊薩特說道，"從你的常規(guī)中掙脫出來可以帶給你一個預(yù)估你生活和計算你需要去做的、能夠使你變得更加幸福的改變的機會。" 不能決定一次遙遠長期的旅行？其實在當(dāng)?shù)氐募彝ヂ灭^消磨一個周末也可以產(chǎn)生神奇的效果。

    把錢花在化妝品上，而不是衣服

    這和如下的話一樣簡單："當(dāng)你看起來很不錯時，你就確實很不錯。但是神經(jīng)興奮并不一定需要高昂的代價。"

    根據(jù)巴茲巴克市場調(diào)研機構(gòu)的一向研究表明，美容產(chǎn)品--即使是從藥店買來的--比起一件流行新款，你更青睞于選它作為你櫥子的新成員。和它本身聽起來一樣瘋狂的是，研究已經(jīng)表明，在經(jīng)濟蕭條期，口紅常常會賣瘋（經(jīng)濟學(xué)家稱之為口紅效應(yīng)）.

    一個可能的原因是，給你的生活增加一些奢侈品可以產(chǎn)生滿足感--即使是手頭有些緊張，你也可以在你的預(yù)算中增加一支唇膏。"而且，不像裙子，你可能只是偶爾才穿一次，唇膏可以使我保持一整天的興奮。"萊薩特如是說。

    把錢花在臥室上，而不是客廳

    一般來說，當(dāng)人們在家居裝修上揮霍時，他們會在客人們消磨時間的房間里投入更多的注意力。舉個例子，他們會給客廳買個沙發(fā)，或者是給廚房買個花崗巖臺面板。但是那些地方或許并不是投資擬家庭幸福指數(shù)的最好的地方。

    最近一個研究表明，居民睡眠質(zhì)量最高的城市，往往也是居民幸福指數(shù)最高的城市。"臥室是你休息和放松的地方，"商業(yè)咨詢顧問、萊斯特的合著者丹尼斯 ·居維葉博士說道。當(dāng)你考慮在你的床上花費三分之一的時候，比如買一床新的床墊，600針的床單，或者重型遮光窗簾就非常有意義。事實上，你將會獲得一樣無價之寶：一個好的睡眠。

    把錢花在健身房里，而不是家庭設(shè)備

    你可能認為，如果你的地下室里有一架跑步機，一輛定位腳踏車，或者一架地秤，你會更有勁頭去工作。而事實卻不是非得這樣。根據(jù)美國消費者報告國家調(diào)查中心的一項最新的調(diào)查顯示，37%的被訪者承認，他們并沒有如他們預(yù)期所想地那樣頻繁使用家庭健身器械。

    《美國科學(xué)院醫(yī)學(xué)助理》雜志上刊登的一片文章提出，一個可能的原因是與其他人一起在健身房運動可以使流汗的感覺更爽--同時，當(dāng)人們享受到運動的趣味性時，他們會更有可能堅持下去。更重要的是，將你的社會生活與健身練習(xí)這兩個重要的任務(wù)相合并可以立刻使你適應(yīng)你已經(jīng)超出過多的日程安排。

    "健身房可以基本上自動安排你與朋友們的時間，"《金錢與幸福：幸福生活指南》的作者、雅虎財經(jīng)的專欄作家勞拉·羅莉解釋道，"你可以看見你真正想見的人，而這個可以使你感到愉悅并使你的花費物有所值。"如果這還不夠成為支出這每月的"零花錢"的理由的，那么你可以考慮一下這個：當(dāng)你一個人在你地下室的跑步機上松懈時，那個好戰(zhàn)的飛速轉(zhuǎn)動的教練卻對你并不寬容。所以從長遠來說，你也會對這個結(jié)果感到更加幸福。

    把錢花在別人身上，而不是你自己

    如果你想要的是即時的滿足感，那么請把你送掉你的一些錢。在一個實驗里給每個學(xué)生都發(fā)了5到20美元，并要求他們一半花在自己身上，一半捐給其他人。一天結(jié)束后，那些把錢給別人的同學(xué)表示感到更幸福。

    "比慷慨更能帶給我們幸福感的事情并不多。"前哈佛講師、《更幸福一點》的作者泰勒·本-沙哈爾博士如是說。試想，每月捐出25美元給你最喜歡的事業(yè)（你不妨從稅收里扣除）.你有一個打心底喜歡的事業(yè)嗎？請參考一下charitynavigator.org,上面按照主題（動物、環(huán)境、健康等等）羅列了各種組織的目錄，以及各種慈善機構(gòu)，因此你可以確信你的付出會起到作用。

    或者在家附近做一些好事。賓夕法尼亞沃爾頓商學(xué)院的研究者發(fā)現(xiàn)，我們會更積極地去幫助那些跟我們有人事關(guān)系的人。找到當(dāng)?shù)啬軌蛞�起共鳴的慈善機構(gòu) --餐具室，人道協(xié)會，流浪漢之家，或者是一個當(dāng)?shù)氐牟┪镳^或圖書館--然后寄去一張支票幫助他們。小規(guī)模上的，給朋友辦一個慶生會，或者給你男朋友買一款他最喜歡的冰淇淋也可以使你感到溫暖和朦朧。