This article came across my facebook news feed recently. The premise of the article is that if we spend our discretionary income on one-time experiences versus buying upgraded material things it will lead to greater happiness. Even though it's a somewhat counter intuitive premise to throw your discretionary income at say a 10 day vacation versus driving a nicer car for the next 5 years, it seems like a no brainer choice for me to take the vacation and drive a worse car.
The article pointed out that one of the detriments to having upgraded material things is that you eventually adapt to them. Adapting to nice things may seem like a net positive, but I see it as a net negative. You really only enjoy new things the first few weeks of having them and then there's a 'meh' effect. The upgraded material thing become the new status quo and you start taking it for granted. Even worse, it is much harder to appreciate lesser quality things in the future.
If the truth be told, it's unrealistic and probably not advisable to spend 100% of your income on buying your way into experience based activities. There has to be some sort of balance. You have to live somewhere, have some mode of transportation, and have enough decent clothes to change regularly and present yourself effectively. If you decide to buy a house and a car you like, it doesn't make you materialistic or a poor steward over your money. Having a place that serves as a sanctuary at home and on the move is highly beneficial to productivity and making progress towards your life goals.
What does experience have to offer that material things can't? You gain memories from experience that can never be taken from you, whereas material things degrade over time. Experience makes you more interesting and gives you a different perspective than anybody else. Even if you travel to the same place as someone else, chances are you will stay at a different place, eat at different places, get different weather, and meet different people along the way. On the other hand, if you buy a nice car, there is probably someone else who has the exact same model and features. Even most houses are not unique.
I will conclude this post with a line from the new Cinderella movie: She was imprisoned in her attic by her stepmom and chose to stay positive, because she knew that her time with her parents and the prince would become beautiful distant memories (paraphrased). Even Cinderella understood that material possessions degrade and devalue over time, whereas good memories can be brought back in an instant no matter how dire life's circumstances are.
