6 Reasons Why Spending Money on Experiences Makes Us Happier Than Buying Stuff

According to scientific research, if your goal is to maximize happiness with your money, it's better to spend on experiences rather than material possessions. Despite living in a society that values materialism, recent studies, including psychological research and public surveys, have demonstrated that engaging in activities rather than accumulating possessions is the key to happiness.

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More and more people are choosing to spend their income on experiences, such as scuba diving, traveling with friends, or booking affordable airfare for unique flight experiences. While the notion that money cannot buy happiness may not be entirely accurate, how we choose to spend our money after meeting basic needs is crucial. Since most people cannot afford everything they desire, it's important to maximize the cost-to-happiness ratio whenever possible. Experiences tend to provide a better return on investment in terms of happiness compared to material possessions.

1. Happiness with "things" fades quickly

We buy things to make us happy, and we succeed. But only for a while. New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them.

Psychologists call this "hedonic adaptation." In other words, the excitement of that new car, iPhone or furniture set will quickly fade into the background as they become a part of our daily lives. No matter how valuable that shiny new bike or iPhone- it soon becomes just another part of our daily routine.

Our experiences are a bigger part of ourselves than our material goods. You can really like your material stuff. You can even think that part of your identity is connected to those things, but they remain separate from you. In contrast, your experiences really are part of you. We are the sum total of our experiences.

Experiences, like traveling, trekking, or trying a new restaurant become a part of our identity, which brings us greater satisfaction.

2. The Nostalgia Factor: Experiences actually get better over time

While physical objects naturally degrade and become less shiny over time - the phrase "New Car Smell" exists for a reason - we have a tendency to re-interpret experiences in the following months and years after their completion. There's a psychological tendency for our brains to remember the good things, and even make what at the time were annoyances, into funny or humorous anecdotes.

Reimagining these past journeys has a chemical effect that can return us to the mood we felt during this enjoyable moment in the past (it's one of the reasons specific sights or smells can resonate with us long after), giving experiences a surprising "recurring" value that might not be obvious at the time.

In addition, as we age we'll pass these stories on to our kids, and perhaps even be able to re-visit the destination or re-try the experience with our living legacies in tow.

3. Experiences help define your purpose and passions

Failure to spend money on experiences means failure to discover your purpose and passions. Your experiences don’t need to be expensive, and neither do your purposes and passions. However, you should align experiences in your life that are in tune with them.

If you enjoy sports, for example, and perhaps you believe in your purpose and you are passionate about your sports, then it makes sense for you to spend money on attending sporting events. Go out and play the sport you love. Spend money to learn the sport you love, you need not particle in competition but the experience of learning what matters. This goes for any other passion you have in life.

Don’t miss out on opportunities to pursue your passion. These are the experiences that matter to you, and ultimately, they will help you shape your life. Take advantage of them because they are always great investments!

4. Experiences introduce you to different worldly perspectives.

Perhaps there is no better way to learn about worldly perspectives than traveling. Traveling is undeniably one of the greatest ways to experience various cultures and social norms. It is an education that you will never experience in a classroom no matter how many places you study. And you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to witness the benefits of travel. Simply taking a road trip for a weekend offers you a new and fresh experience.

You don’t have to travel to appreciate a new worldly outlook. Spending time in nature can be extremely meditative and healing. Some of my fondest experiential memories are of those times I was in nature, absorbing all its beauty and wonder. Experiences like this won’t cost you a dime, but they have the opportunity of being life-changing.

You may realize and come to understand cultural differences. Even if you don’t agree with these points of view, at least you’ve walked away learning how to be more thoughtful, compassionate, humble, or grateful

5. Stuffocation

Do you have a garage full of stuff? That build-up of junk that you’ll never use can actually do harm to your mental health. This is because when our homes are filled with junk and clutter it increases our levels of stress.

The exact instant when you buy a new car, phone, or computer it immediately becomes obsolete. Some of the biggest companies in the world have built their fortune around this model, constantly releasing "slightly" improved versions of the previous to keep people seeking the latest and greatest - an unobtainable goal with no true end that can see you dispensing thousands of dollars like a snake chasing its own tail.

6. Experiences can lead to a healthier life

Putting less of a focus on the accumulation of material goods can have multiple beneficial psychological effects, in both mental and physical capacities.

Those who live less cluttered lives are shown to be less stressed, as opposed to those suffering from "suffocation"; we often look at all the items we own or clothes in the wardrobe and feel guilty for not getting more use out of them, yet don't want to go to the effort to sell off or dispose of them and feel stress as a result.

While not all experiences are inherently healthy, those who live more active lifestyles typically experience better overall mood levels, longer lifespans, and a more healthy and gregarious attitude - along with a glowing outward appearance.

Conclusion

Looking at the bigger picture, society as a whole adopting less of a focus on accumulating our own items leads to more flexibility when it comes to altruism; experiential purchases make people more social, giving, and generous as a whole while helping to build personal identity, self-confidence, and a connection with the fellow members of our local (and global) communities.

More engaged members of society are also likely to "care" more about both their fellows, as well as the natural world and environment which contains them.

More frequent, smaller experiential interactions with friends such as concerts, short trips, or simply going out for dinner result in happiness not just for one person, but a group in one single interaction as well. Things may last longer initially, but it's the memories of your experiences that will linger for years and decades to come.