If you want to be happy, don’t waste your money on a lot of material goods.
At first, this statement sounds like another iteration of the popular “money can’t buy happiness” mantra we’ve been hearing a lot lately. (After all, we’ve seen plenty of evidence of just how miserable the subject of money can make us). However, the latest research isn’t telling us to put away our wallets, but instead shows how spending our money in certain ways can contribute to our long-term happiness.
In times of shrinking budgets, here’s how your dollars can have a positive impact on your life:
Invest in experience
You’ve saved up some cash for a splurge. What would you rather spend it on: a week-long trip or a new TV? Conventional wisdom might say the TV is a better investment. After all, that vacation is a one-time experience (and a short one at that), but you’ll enjoy the TV for many years to come.
However, new research out of San Francisco University turns this way of thinking upside down. A study conducted by associate professor Ryan Howell shows that contrary to popular belief it is experiences, not objects, which lead to greater happiness.
The study polled 154 students (with an average age of 25) at SFU and asked them about a recent purchase they made with the goal of making themselves happy — whether it was an object or an experience. While both types of purchases made participants happy, those who made experiential purchases reported higher satisfaction both at the time of purchase and later on.
Why did experiences win out? The study pinpointed a couple of key reasons:
Experiences provide a sense of connection. As Howell notes, most experiences involve other people so they provide some essential bonding time with family and friends. They also make other people around us happier in the process too.
We don’t have the same bonding experience with other when we spend on material objects. This study supports previous research out of Cornell University which showed that people are more likely to be envious of other people’s “stuff” than their experiences. We find it easier — and less threatening — to share our experiences rather than compare our possessions.
Stuff gets boring, but memories don’t . Experts note that we tend adapt to new purchases in as little as six to eight weeks. That’s how long it takes the novelty of the new item and the pleasure of obtaining it to wear off. However, Howell’s study shows that experiences aren’t a fleeting pleasure: the stories and memories make us happy in the long run as well.
“Purchased experiences provide memory capital,” Howell said in a recent press release. “We don’t tend to get bored of happy memories like we do with a material object.”
Experiences make us feel alive. The study’s findings also found that objects don’t provide the same feeling of vitality that experiences do.
