Money Buy Happiness

People say money can buy happiness, yet if this is true, why are the wealthiest of individuals still discontent in life? The main reason money cannot simply buy happiness, as we might believe, is due to the fact that purchases provide a false expectation of joy due to the consumer’s flawed predictions on what makes them happy, and for how long it will continue to bring pleasure to them. In order for consumers to actually buy happiness, they must make experiential purchases, purchase more frequent lesser purchases rather than intermittent large ones, and spend their money in a prosocial manner.

The primary approach shoppers should take to receive further pleasure out of their expenditures is to make experiential purchases, rather than buy material

When one makes experiential purchases, however, it takes longer to adapt to them, thus, prolonging the pleasure of the purchase. This combined with remembering the memories associated with the event, causes euphoria for as long as the buyer can recall the experience. Experiential purchases also outweigh material purchases due to the fact that they “are more likely to be shared with other people, and other people…are our greatest source of happiness” (Dunn 8). Essentially, if consumers buy experiences with people, a source of joy, then they are buying happiness. Purchases shared with others tend to yield more benefits, compared to products bought directly off the shelf, for the reason that shoppers do not experience the bonding and building of relationships, thus making them less content with their purchases. Experiential purchases are also “more self-defining than material purchases” (Dunn 8). This is due to the fact that they are unique to the individual, causing more cheerfulness, whereas material items can be bought by anybody with the

Purchasers tend to be happier expending like this due to the fact that humans adapt quickly to new purchases. Indulging in frequent minor purchases allows people to constantly have something they have yet to be adjusted to, creating a continuous feeling of bliss, whereas purchasing great expensive items infrequently causes gaps of joy in a person’s life due to the frequent adaptation of their new acquisitions. Along with this, “anything that makes a pleasurable event more difficult to understand and explain will delay adaptation” (Dunn 12). This adjustment is postponed through the newness of the experience, the surprising events that happen along the way, the uncertainty of what will happen, and the changes that occur. Delaying the adaptation of a new purchase allows the buyer to be content and acquire more joy out of their purchase for a longer period of time. Diminishing marginal utility also factors into the consumer’s purchasing decisions. If buyers were to break up their pleasures and purchases “into a series of briefer experiences [they can] …offset diminishing marginal utility” (Dunn 13). Doing this allows buyers to experience more pleasure from their purchases, and essentially “get the biggest bang for their buck” by spreading out the pleasure of the product, maximizing happiness time. This ties in with the adaptation of new purchases, and