Can Money Buy Happiness? Research Says Yes (If You Buy This)
“Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.”
What is money well spent for you? A little retail therapy like some leopard-print leather pants? The latest iPhone? Or maybe even a gigantic splurge on a sports car? But, are these things capable of buying you happiness?
I'd like to say I conducted an experiment to see if any of these things can buy happiness. Except, these are all purchases I made because I believed they would (wait a second, did Chris just admit to buying leather pants?). I got sucked into thinking they'd give me a feeling of happiness that lasted longer than the flavour of a piece of Hubba Bubba.
Can you relate? Don't be discouraged. It turns out that you can buy happiness.
If you're going to invest your money into the pursuit of happiness, research points to experiences as giving you that satisfying feeling that sticks around.
The study found that you can double down on all this goodness if the experience brings you together with other people.
And if the experience is linked with who you see yourself as being? You're reinforcing all the positive traits you believe about yourself. It's something that an iPhone just can't give you. It's like Usain Bolt challenging you to a 100-meter sprint. Sure, you came second but were you even close?
If I see myself as a family man and take that $1,200 buckaroos I was gonna drop on a new iPhone and go camping and kayaking with the family instead, it's like hitting Blackjack for all those tingly feelings of satisfaction and fulfillment that will last a lifetime.
That's because every dollar you spend is a vote for the person you want to be.
When I decided to choose freedom as my measure of success, it made my purchasing habits far clearer (and my life far happier). I buy most of my clothes at thrift shops (but I will splurge on Patagonia), I grab phones a couple of generations behind and save a thousand bucks off the sticker, and my sports car is long gone.
Buying meaningful experiences that are part of something bigger brings you closer to the life you want. And sometimes you realize that to get closer to the life you want, means you save money so you can buy freedom. Because if someone is telling you where to be, what to do and how to do it, what do you really have?
You get one life. How do you want to spend it?
