A study, called Waiting for Merlot: Anticipatory Consumption of Experiential and Material Purchases, published in Psychological Science, tracked how 100 college students and over 2,200 randomly selected adults felt about material goods and experiences. People got excited about both things and events. But they felt more positive about experiential purchases, and their feelings about material purchases were more likely to be tinged with feelings of impatience. People often get creative while planning out a future vacation, and just thinking about all the things they’ll be doing and the fun they’ll be having can boost their mood.

Plus when it comes to experiences, money isn’t as much of an issue, the researchers say. People may be competitive when it comes to keeping up with the Joneses, but tend to be less competitive about spending on experiences (going out to dinner, or holiday, or attending a concert).One reason may be that experiences give people the opportunity to bond and socialize. (NPR website, Sept 2014)

Wonderful isn’t it! Here we have psychologists, presumably at some expense, telling us in pompous, pseudo-scientific language what philosophers were saying over two thousand years ago, and what most people instintively know. Back in ancient Athens Epicurus extolled the life of friends, eating together, discussing life together, and enjoying nature in a beautiful garden. He contrasted this approach to life with striving for power and money and the unreachable goals associated with “success”. To the greedy no amount of enough is enough, which is why billionaires still feel insecure comparing themselves with other multi-billionaires. They buy the whole US Congress,but are they happy? Apparently, not very.