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SHARE, ... Recent research has shown that spending your discretionary income on life experiences--whether climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro or taking salsa lessons--yields greater happiness than buying material possessions. Now, a new report published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology concludes that the key is to bring others along for the ride when you drop that loot.
ReplyDelete"If you take our research seriously, then it doesn't matter what the activity is," says study author Harry Reis, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. "As long as you're doing it with someone else." Indeed, Reis and his colleagues initially set out to prove that material possessions "tend to be more solitary in nature." And after four separate studies on more than 2,200 people, they not only reached that conclusion, but also found that where experiences are concerned, you'll get more bang for your buck if you let friends in on the fun.
There are myriad ways to squeeze every last ounce of enjoyment out of your dollar. "It could be going to a movie or taking a hike together," Reis says. "It could be going shopping together. Anything that involves pleasurable interaction with another person." And though their new report found that it doesn't matter if you spend $20 or $10,000, a thrifty approach means you can afford more experiences--all the better for your social life, and your wellbeing. Here, a few ideas to get you started:
Sign up for a local race. Whether a 5K run or a fundraising walk, you'll wring lots of joy from your money--particularly if you spend months training with a partner before race day. In fact, the study concluded that experiences yield greater happiness, in part, because they can be "reconstructed favorably in memory." (Ready to lace up the sneakers? Make it easy with our Zero-To-5K Plan.)