Investing in Experiences
They say you’d be wiser to spend your money on experiences versus cashing in on material things. Now, you may be thinking “I’d much rather go shopping and get things that I will have for years instead of going somewhere and doing something that will last…maybe a few hours.”
This theory isn’t to say that getting physical things is wrong but that investing in shared experiences, stories, and real life pleasures builds a much longer-lasting sense of abundance and contentment.
Take it from James Hamblin’s article “Buy Experiences, Not Things” in The Atlantic:
Over the past decade, an abundance of psychology research has shown that experiences bring people more happiness than possessions. Essentially, when you can't live in a moment, they say, it's best to live in anticipation of an experience. Experiential purchases like trips, concerts, movies, et cetera, tend to trump material purchases because the utility of buying anything really starts accruing before you buy it.
So, the timeline of an experiential purchase begins even before the initial investment. The anticipation and excitement for what’s to come then builds up as the event nears, be it days, weeks, or months.
The fulfillment doesn’t end after the live event is over.
The lasting effects, both conscious and subconscious, fuel your identity, connection, and even social behavior. (Hamblin, J (2014), Buy Experiences, Not Things. The Atlantic.)
You’re more likely to pursue social activities when you think about an experiential purchase (past or upcoming). You’re likely to be more generous with people with this same thought.
Alternatively, the psychological effects of waiting for material purchases evoke less pleasant senses: impatience, aggravation, and, believe it or not, violence. Yep. People waiting in line to get tickets to, say, a local concert, are generally—as a whole—in better moods than a group of people who is waiting for the latest release of sneakers.
Anticipation of an experience is a much more effective stimulant of happiness because there’s endless hypotheses of what will happen: how it will make you feel, how the people you’re with will feel, etc. With material possessions, the expectations are pretty cut and dry (and if it’s not what you’re expecting, your mood declines).
When thinking about/deciding where to invest your “spending” money, consider what will maximize your sense of fulfillment and happiness. Will the purchase positively affect those around you/loved ones/your community? Will it be a place your mind goes to when its wandering?
