Cambridge study confirms that money can buy happiness

A new Cambridge University study confirms that there does seem to be a link between money and happiness.

However, a press release about the research clarifies that "matching spending with personality was more important for individuals' happiness than the effect of individuals' total income or their total spending."

The team reviewed nearly 77,000 financial transactions made during a 6-month period by 625 people in the U.K.

They grouped these purchases into 59 broad categories then compared them to the participants' personalities which were assessed according to five traits—openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

The researchers found that happier people tended to spend more on activities that lined up with their personalities; for example, extroverts had more expenses related to eating out.

As such, one of the paper's authors Joe Gladstone has said the study shows that "spending can increase our happiness when it is spent on goods and services that fit our personalities and so meet our psychological needs."

RELATED: Here are Forbes' top ten happiest richest people in America: