Money will make you happier.
There are certain expenditures that have a direct link to our increased happiness, and the ones that are spent on things that enhance our experiences. and so understanding how to use money to enhance your happiness is vey very important.
Experiences are greater than stuff. All research supports it.
According to Steven Hughes, Financial Therapist – Happiness isn’t on any shelves. We can’t order it online, but there are things that we want. There are goals that we have. There are things that we want to see in our life that money can help us achieve.
It could buy you happiness. It’s just that right now we are spending it in a way that isn’t focused on happiness. It’s focused on things that we think are gonna make us happy, and are not.
Handling money creates an experience of euphoria that can last for hours and we get stuck in this mindset of consumption; it’s one of the ways that we are wired to do things wrong about money. Dr. Brad Klontz
Spending money on gadgets and possessions can give us an immediate sense of gratification, but doesn’t usually lead to long-term happiness.
The shiny new object will lose it luster and you will not have long-lasting happiness associated with it. It would backfire and make you feel worse.
Spending on experiences rather than purchases has a bigger impact on our happiness over time.
So if you have the option to buy a memory of a vacation that you can tell as a story again and again, you get to enjoy it every time you load the memory and share it and store it and share it, store it and share it, many many times. It’s a long-term investment. Dr. Moran Cerf
Every time you connect back to that you experience a little bit of the happiness vs a purchase when you buy something, you feel good in that moment, you might feel good when you see it, but over time, you see it over and over, that happiness diminishes. It is not the same as an experience.
As Kathleen financial psychologist Burns Kingsburry stated –
Ask yourself –
What are the things that you actually love to do most?
What are the things where I lose myself in doing them, and what feels important to me?
Saving money is great, But ask yourself –
How are using some of those funds to create experiences?
What would be like to do something with yourself, your family, your partner, your friends, that could be a memory that you have for a lifetime?
Life is about stories that we share. and there are very stories that you are gonna be able to share off this coffee maker that you bought, or this car that you finally got in your driveway. So think about a concert that you have been to, whether it was now or when you were a teenager. Think about the best dinner that you have had. The best vacation you have been on. These experiences that pay dividends time and time again.
Every penny should serve you a purpose. It should be spent towards making your life easier, happier, and better.
Ask yourself –
Will this financial decision/purchase bring me closer to my wellness?
The way you are spending your money, is it going to improve your life when it comes to your finances, your emotions, and your physical health?