How to buy happiness
An
elegant study recently demonstrated that having more cash --- or even
looking at riches --- decreases our enjoyment of the simple things in
life, in this case, chowing down on a bar of chocolate. Related
studies have shown that we can increase our happiness by
spending, but only if we give the money to others or buy experiences
rather than things. (Read more about the science over at Not
Exactly Rocket Science.)
In the last year, I've
started to notice the same trends scientists mention about spending and
happiness. I'm loathe to spend money on anything, but the cash
we've given away, spent on restaurant meals with family, and used to
buy our honeymoon cruise tickets have definitely increased my enjoyment
levels. While buying physical objects results in a short-term
rush that fades away once we get used to our new toys, our experiences
keep growing brighter and fonder in my memory. I guess I know
where to channel excess cash in the future!
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First you talk about "leftover strawberries", and now "excess cash"! You really have to stop making up these crazy terms :-).
On a serious note, I find that money spent on really high-quality tools brings me enjoyment every time I use that tool. I can feel the quality, the tool is nice to use, and I know it's going to last a long time. Money spent on cheap, low-quality tools continues to annoy me each time I use that tool until it finally breaks and costs me more money to replace.
Money spent on "stuff" is sometimes also being spent on the experience you'll enjoy from using that stuff, and so can contribute to happiness. This doesn't apply to shiny geegaws and throwaway junk, but to actual useful things that'll you'll keep for a long time and get a lot of use out of.
Only problem is, I keep having to learn this lesson over and over again :-).
I was actually thinking along these same lines as I was weeding yesterday (my thinking time.) Some things do buy experiences, and we probably think that all things buy experiences. I guess the question is --- is the experience a quick rush or something that will quickly fade into annoyance?
I feel the same way about our semi-fancy camera as you feel about your expensive tools. I'm constantly awed by the things it can do, and by the new experiences I have with it (seeing tiny bugs, etc.) I think Mark is entirely on your side about tools --- if we had the space to organize them, he'd probably buy every tool there is!
Now I'm getting long-winded, but I think that taking care of things is one reason that even the best ones pale in comparison to pure experiences. I can (mostly) manage not to drop my fancy camera in the creek or on a rock, but when I have more stuff than I can use in my normal daily life, it turns into clutter, and that weighs me down! Experiences, though, are just happy memories (that manage to get happier as they fade into the distance.
)
Interesting stuff to think about!