Ever since I hit my adolescence years, I was in search of happiness.

There are economists who think happiness is the best indicator of the health of a society. We know that money can make you happier, though after your basic needs are met, it doesn’t make you that much happier. But one of the biggest questions is how to allocate our money.

Research shows that material purchases are less satisfying than buying experiences.

For over two decades, lots of research and studies have been done on the question of money and happiness. Many times, I have bought material things to make me happy but it was like a fast high that went away so fast leaving me with sometimes even questioning why or how on earth I bought that item assuming it would make me happier.

I realized that my satisfaction with the things I bought went away after a few days, whereas my satisfaction with experiences I spent money on went up.

After a few life changing experiences, I learnt that rather than buying material items, I was happier spending on experiences like going to exhibition, attending workshops, doing outdoor activities, learning a new skill, or traveling.

It’s counter intuitive that something like a physical object that you can keep for a long time doesn’t keep you as happy as long as a once-and-done experience does. Ironically, the fact that a material thing is ever present works against it, making it easier to adapt to. It fades into the background and becomes part of the new normal. But while the happiness from material purchases diminishes over time, experiences become an ingrained part of our identity.

I realized that experiences became a larger part of myself than any material goods I owned no matter how much I liked any material stuff I had, I did not feel my identity connecting to those things, while experiences became an ingrained part of my identity.

Another reason is that shared experiences connected me more to other people than common consumption. I felt more connected to people I shared experiences with than someone who I bought the same handbag as. Part of the stories which have made up my character, given me insight on life, as well as provided me with platforms of life changing situations were through experiences purchased rather than items or material goods.