Experiences Won’t Make You Happier Than Possessions

Most of life is lived in the unmemorable, in-between moments, the kind of moments in which well-chosen possessions (furniture, clothing, cooking equipment, nice soap) can improve.

But what if they then said, “Keep in mind that you’ve worn the shoes hundreds of times, and have been happier for each of those times, and will wear them for years to come, but you may not recall this as clearly as an isolated glorious experience, like Chez Panisse—what do you choose now?” I might switch my answer. And this isn’t really that surprising. People often don’t consider their opinions carefully until you ask questions that prompt reflection3

Also, material purchases have an advantage in contributing to happiness that experiential purposes don’t: They can combine with each other. For example, each spatula or funnel I buy contributes to a well-stocked kitchen

Does it even make sense to differentiate material and experiential purchases, given that every possession is an experience?

Possessions create experiences

I can’t, myself, name a single material purchase that doesn’t create an experience

But what happens if we look right in the middle, at the purchases which seem especially likely to produce colorful experiences? What if we ask people to compare the happiness they get from experiential purchases with purchases of more “experiential possessions,” like sports equipment or musical instruments?

There is only one study I know of that does this, which is Guevarra & Howell 2012. And they find that “experiential possessions” purchases result in the same reported satisfaction as experience purchases.