I would take a stab in the dark by saying that walking around dripping in Gucci and Louis Vitton, sippin’ on rounds upon rounds pornstar martinis and galavanting around Europe on your summer holidays would make you pretty happy… But what does the literature and the empirical research say, does money buy happiness? This concept has been studied for years and their conclusion is clear: Money buys happiness although it is less than what people think. This can be potentially attributed to the way people spend their money…There are a few golden rules for how you can maximisinse your happiness with money, but today we will just focus on one golden rule, so it is not so overbearing… Here tis…
Golden Rule #1: Buy experiences instead of things:
When things are feeling blue, perhaps the guys you’ve been dating says ‘oh, I don;t think I want a relationship’ where you’ve already planned the wedding on pinterest, or perhaps you’ve been fired from your job or you ordered an almond latte and it comes back full cream milk and your lactose intolerant and you need to find the nearest toilet so you don’t soil yourself. In an attempt to cheer yourself up you may have a repeated whisper in your ear ‘treat yo self, treat yo self, treat yo self, if anyone deserves it it’s you’. Those prada sunnies that every man and his dog hag, you need them. ASOS has an end of year financial sale. You should get a few thangs. Although these material things are tempting you are better off purchasing some that is an experience… As the research is overwhelming to support that people are often happier when they spend their money on experiences rather than things. So instead of those basic b*tch prada sunglasses take yourself on a day trip to that quaint country town you’ve always wanted to visit. Go to that new art exhibition you’ve been wanting to see, or take yourself to the local food market and get your grubby hands on those orgasmins hot jam donuts.
Another darn good point which is reflected in the literature is that when reflection on a material purchase versus reflecting on an experience. Experiences take the cake!
It is important to mention that some experiences are better than others…for example people report being happier when they are making love or listening to music, for example, than when working or commuting. Surprisingly, the nature of the activity in which people are engaged in seems to matter less than the fact that they are engaged in it. For instance you would think that you would be more engaged in love making than running some errands. Or looking at all of the fishies on a trip to your local aquarium when compared to mowing ya lawn. Another large body of research links mind-wandering as a cause of diminished happiness, if we are keeping our mind busy and engaged it is associated with increased wellbeing benefits.
Another reason people seem to get more happiness from experiences than things is that we are more likely to ‘mentally revisit’ our experiential purchases rather than our material purchases. This can be attributed to our experiences being more connected to our identities. Additionally, experiences as more likely to be shared with other people for example sinking pints at singing at the top of your lungs at Octoberfest celebrations or having some seggsy time with your newest situationship. Relationships; platonic or non-platonic contributes heavily to our wellbeing.
To conclude, buy experience not things = more happy
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