Splurging On Material Things Can Actually Make You More Happy!

Indulging in material things is not a sin, it can actually bring in more happiness, revealed a new study.In the recent study, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia have surveyed people about their feelings on material and experiential purchases.

Material purchases include toys, Christmas decorations, clothing, footwear, kitchen appliances etc. Experiences purchases include, buying tickets for a game or movie, vacation, gift vouchers, spa gift cards etc.

They found that even though both purchases gave happiness, material purchases brought frequent feelings of happiness while experiences brought a more intense, shorter feeling of happiness. However researchers also found that when participants looked back on their purchases six weeks after Christmas, it was the experiences that gave them more satisfaction.

Aaron Weidman, one of the co-authors of the study said, “The decision of whether to buy a material thing or a life experience may therefore boil down to what kind of happiness one desires. Consider a holiday shopper deciding between tickets to a concert or a new couch in the living room. The concert will provide an intense thrill for one spectacular night, but then it will end, and will no longer provide momentary happiness, aside from being a happy memory. In contrast, the new couch will never provide a thrilling moment to match the concert, but will keep the owner snug and comfortable each day throughout the winter months.”

Source-Medindia