How Money Buys Experiences, Not Things

Happiness is the BEST indicator of the health of a society – or, so they say – right?

We love to buy things. Not “we”, but we as a country. It starts from the time we are born. Media surrounds us all the time – reinforcing many things. One of which is the idea that stuff will make us happy. Happiness is driving a new car., wearing the nicest clothes, and posting continuous status updates and selfies on Facebook with the latest high-tech devices or, selfies with our most recent big ticket purchase. 

The message is the same, no matter where we turn:  BUY, BUY and BUY.  You are a busy person, you work hard and you deserve it!  Unfortunately we can’t all just buy because that requires money. And while money can buy you happiness, it doesn’t always work out in your best interest.

Lots of people look for happiness – kids and adults alike.  In some ways, money can make you happy – but after time, you might realize that it doesn’t really make for lasting happiness… because money is such a limited resource.

For many people, spending money creates the illusion of happiness ~ while shopping might make you happy temporarily, it won’t fix your emotions permanently. Material things can’t ever replace an emotional void in your life. 

It’s logical to think that spending money on items will make you happier for a longer period of time, after all, a physical object lasts until you throw it away (right?)  And since non-physical things don’t last quite as long (a few hours, a few days), then that happiness associated with them doesn’t quite last as long.

But is that really the case?

We buy things to make us happy. And while we do experience happiness, it’s not long lasting happiness – it lasts for a short time, until we adapt.

Sure, that new car, iPhone, computer, laptop, or home might get us pumped and excited – we share it on Facebook, we tell all of our friends, and we turn to others to reaffirm the joy we found in that purchase. But at some point, that happiness will fade…

The new car or truck will age.

The iPhone will soon be less new over time.

The laptop will work wonderfully for a while until it gets older and the next “newest” laptop version comes out.

Money DOES buy happiness – but only to a certain point.  After a period of time, the happiness and satisfaction for that item wears off, as it gets used, and less shiny.  Before you know it, it becomes the “new” normal.  We see these new items daily, thus we adapt quickly.. which is essentially the irony of it all – right?

Experiences, on the other hand, become part of our identity. They become a bigger part of yourself than material items.  While you might associate your physical items as part of you, they really don’t connect you very well with others. Doing outdoor activities, traveling or learning a new skill become part of your identity.

Even if those experiences are negative, embarrassing or less than successful – later on in time, you might look back upon those experiences as something that helped you build character. Not only that, it seems like we tend to compare our material purchases much more than we do experiences – am I right?

When we see people trying to keep up with the Joneses… they tend to compare material goods over experiences.  Sure, we might be bothered when we see people staying in fancy hotels on vacation, but we aren’t quite as bothered when these same people outdo us on material purchases.

Buying a high end fancy {fast} car might give you quite a thrill – especially driving around Phoenix. But that money you put forward on the car could also buy you a year’s worth of enjoyable evenings out to dinner with friends or family. And although that might not be quite as thrilling of an experience, it will be more fulfilling.  Not only will that time spent with company provide a longer, more fulfilling happiness, it’ll lead to less stress, and lasting memories.

With all things in life, there really isn’t any guarantee that you will have a good experience. But in most cases you will – and as a result, you will have a longer-lasting genuine, fulfilling happiness.  Even if you don’t have a positive experience ,you might look back on it later in humor – and be willing to share a story about that time when…