In this post, I talk about why investing in experiences is better than buying stuff. I also share some of the rules I practice to avoid overloading my home with clothes and gadgets I don’t use.

Experiences Make Us Happy.  Stuff Doesn’t.

Research has consistently shown that we’re happier when we put our dollars toward having amazing life experiences as opposed to using them to accumulate more stuff. For some people, this can seem counter-intuitive. Why spend your money on an experience that doesn’t leave you with a tangible thing you can keep? It turns out that we’re fueled by happy memories. Rarely does someone get to the end of their life with regrets about the time they spent with their family and friends, or the incredible adventures had as they traveled and explored the world. You will, however, find people with regrets about the big boat they bought for their cabin, which they only made time to drive to twice last summer.

It has often been the tendency of American families to buy a bigger home once they start to have children. Those larger houses have more rooms, which many people then fill with toys, gadgets, and other things that bring temporary joy, but soon get demoted to the basement storage room. Many people even pay for extra space in storage units over a period of years, just to store things that they are likely never to use again.