The "Experience" of Shopping - Research!

There is now research to back up my "Instructions for Life" post on going to events: The Atlantic online writes that yes, the saying that money can't buy happiness is a proven myth - BUT, it is more the wanting of expensive things that makes us happy, rather than actually buying them.

So Derek Thompson (writer of the article) suggests that you stop buying so much stuff, and replace that with buying experiences. He also makes great points about how a new thing you buy loses its novelty really fast (that new rug you just bought will soon cease to make you happy, and "reveal itself to be just a rug"). The other really interesting thing is that apparently, to some materialistic people, the act of buying can actually be a disappointment, compared to the thinking about the acquisition of the item that comes before.

Go read the article here!

And maybe try "shopping" at the library?