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According to a recent study, using money to achieve life experiences — like traveling — leads to greater happiness.
Spending money on things like traveling, satisfies what psychologists call “higher order needs” — like the need to feel truly alive and part of the world. Spending money on material objects is much less likely to satisfy such needs.
The study, called The mediators of experiential purchases: Determining the impact of psychological need satisfaction, was conducted by Ryan Howell, assistant professor of psychology at San Francisco State University.
Howell says the results of his study “support an extension of basic need theory, where purchases that increase psychological need satisfaction will produce the greatest well-being.”
That’s psychologist-speak for “avoid stupid consumer crap you don’t need and spend the money doing something you love.”
That probably isn’t news for vagabonds. Given $2000 would rather buy a swank new sofa or spend three months in India? Is that even a choice?
But what vagabonds might find interesting is that the study results were the same regardless of the amount spent or the income of the consumer. In other words, traveling on a shoestring budget is more likely to bring you happiness than staying in that high paying job that doesn’t leave you time to travel.
So why would living like a pauper abroad bring more happiness than living like a king at home? It turns out that the key is memory, not money.
In the scenario supported by this study, the long term happiness comes from the “wealth of memories” the experiences provide. We don’t get bored of memories the way we do objects. Just consider how often you find yourself reminiscing about your amazing new kitchen tile. Not much, huh? How about that weekend you ran with the bulls in Pamplona?
Of course that doesn’t mean you should gut your life savings and leave your family blowing in the wind. Other studies have long shown that debt leads to stress, and stress is not a recipe for happiness regardless of the amazing memories you might accumulate on your way to poverty.
No, the real beauty of this study is that it confirms what travelers have long known — experience is happiness.
[Photo by TuTuWoN, Flickr]
February 18th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I agree that traveling is a great thing and it brings you happiness for sure.. great post..
Ways Of Obtaining Real Inner Joy
February 18th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Great post! I can’t agree more.
After spending a year on the road from Mexico to Argentina, my wife and I were thinking about going back to the states to get jobs and live a “normal” life. Instead, we realized what this post basically says: “Happiness is in experiences”, so we are now headed to South Korea to teach English instead.
I’m glad there’s a study that backs our decision
February 19th, 2009 at 1:51 am
I’ve attempted to teach this to my students many times, but apparently some people are so set in how they view things, never having experienced the other extreme. Some would say, why travel the world for a year when I could buy a new car?
Why indeed. Travel seems so hard, so out of reach, for some. Sure it’s only 2000 dollars to spend a month in India, but it still feels impossible.
I’m trying to break them of these thoughts. We’ll see how it goes.
February 19th, 2009 at 10:44 am
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February 19th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
@previously.bitten: who are your students, what are you teaching, and how are you trying to convince them of the value of travel?
Amitiés,
Nicolai
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:20 pm
I just came across your site and it makes me yearn to be the “vagabond” I’ve been smothering under way too much consumer debt. I’ve been dreaming about it for years. I would much rather live off of $2000 for 3 months in a far away land than to be tied down to my pretty decent paycheck I get for working 50 hours per week. Someday…
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