Brock Bastian: Long put-off spend worth its wait in joy

Build up to big buys slowly to maximise the anticipation. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

Money may not buy happiness but materialists clearly enjoy planning to purchase, study finds.

Happiness, it appears, is more about meaning and satisfaction than money and the acquisition of more stuff.

But money isn't all bad. It can feed your family and pay off your mortgage, so it has its upsides.

Reflecting this reality, research consistently demonstrates a non-linear relationship between money and happiness. It shows that those of us who earn too little are unhappy, but so are those of us who earn too much.

The most up-to-date figures on this relationship suggest that, in Australia, A$100,000 ($114,800) is the income "sweet spot" for maximising happiness.

So, money in moderation appears to promote the most happiness. Still, perhaps it's not just how much money we have, but also how we value and spend it that matters for happiness.

It is now well accepted that materialism - the love of things - tends to have adverse consequences for wellbeing.

But is there any hope for those poor materialists? A recent study suggests there may be.

Marsha Richins of the University of Missouri examined whether buying things may actually promote happiness.

In three studies, consumers were asked about the emotions they experienced when contemplating an important purchase, while shopping for an important purchase, or when using the product after it was purchased.

After grouping the sample according to whether consumers reported either high or low levels of materialism, Richins found materialists experienced more positive emotion when contemplating a future purchase, and a decline in positive emotion after the purchase had occurred.

Richins also found that the experience of positive emotion when contemplating a new purchase was related to how transformative materialists thought the new purchase would be.

That is, whether they thought the product would make them more likeable, more attractive and closer to their friends, whether it would mean that they would have more fun and enjoyment in life, and whether they would be more effective and efficient in their lives.

This experience of pre-purchase increases and post-purchase decreases in positive emotion was not evident for lesser materialists, who appear to be emotionally ambivalent about acquiring more stuff. The findings of this research demonstrate that, for materialists, happiness lies in the anticipation, rather than the outcome of spending money on things.

How can we use this to improve our daily levels of happiness? Here are a few pearls of wisdom (well, at least for the materialists among us):

Don't rush into a purchase. Spend time contemplating how much of a better person the new product will make you first.

Buy lotto tickets a week before the draw. That's seven days of happy expectation and probably the only return on investment you will get.

Revive the lay-by. Putting something behind the counter and paying it off over time should maximise its happiness pay-off.

Don't buy now and pay later. It will not only contribute to the pain of debt, but will rob you of the joy of contemplating the purchase.

Can money buy happiness? Well, maybe it can.

If we don't have too much of it, spend it on a good meal out or presents for our loved ones, and spend more time contemplating our purchases than shopping for them, we just may be able to maximise the happiness returns on our investments.

Brock Bastian is a postdoctoral fellow, school of psychology, at the University of Queensland.