Face Like Fizz

Interesting article from Unclutterer discussing how experiences create happiness, not objects.

I recently read 59 Seconds by Professor Richard Wiseman. He describes similar studies which found that buying objects created only short term happiness whilst spending money on experiences gave long term happiness. It seems we tire of objects after a while but memories continue to give long term joy.

My own experiences confirm this. We took a family holiday to Walt Disney World in Florida last year. I know this sound a bit cheesy but it was the best holiday we have ever had, and six months later we still talk about it all the time. The holiday itself (flights, hotel, tickets) was expensive but we spent hardly anything on actual items. (The children all wanted a Goofy hat and a T shirt as souvenirs but that was about as far as it went.) It was a lot of money to spend but we concluded in the end it was worth it as we have never had such a good happiness:cost ratio.