Every year it feels like society starts bombarding us earlier and earlier with reminders and messages that Christmas and the Holiday season is fast approaching. Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday show up in every headline and inbox. We’re under constant pressure to buy, buy, buy and “shop till you drop.”
A recent television news story sparked some conversation around our office. The reporter asked a group of local teenagers what they received for Christmas last year. Most of the children featured couldn’t name a single item they received. What they did cite remember was the family vacation that was part of a larger group gift. What about you? Do you remember more of “the stuff” you got last year, or where you were, or who you were with, and what you did?
One of our teammates remembered reading a study from 2020 in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. The researchers concluded that people consistently reported greater happiness from experiences than from material goods. Vacations, long weekends, concerts, museum trips, sporting events or even special meals created longer lasting satisfaction than anything that could be placed in a box.
Of course, we all like to guess what’s in that package with our name on it under the tree. At the same time, we hope this reminder sparks some conversation among your family and friends. At Baldwin Capital Management, we love to hear stories and see pictures about how our clients and friends are experiencing and living their “happily ever afters.”
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
* Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, May 2020, Volume 88
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103119305256?via%3Dihub
Spending on doing promotes more moment-to-moment happiness than spending on having
Author: Amit Kumar,Matthew A. Killingsworth,Thomas Gilovich
Publication: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: May 2020