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Experiences are primarily about doing while possessions are about having

• Researchers typically define experiences as things we buy in order to do something, which don’t endure in the form of a possession; and material goods as things we buy in order to have something.  Kira M. Newman

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Experiences can bring us a great deal of happiness and enjoyment

• The people who are happiest are those who are best at wringing experiences out of everything they spend money on, whether it’s dancing lessons or hiking boots. David Futrelle
• Happiness is in the content of moment-to-moment experiences. James Hamblin
• Happiness may not be explicitly for sale but spending our money in a way which will enrich our experiences seems to certainly have a knock-on effect on our wellbeing. Martina Perry

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In fact, studies have show that spending money on experiences tends to bring us significantly greater happiness than spending our money on possessions

• Over the past decade, an abundance of psychology research has shown that experiences bring people more happiness than do possessions.  James Hamblin
• A 2010 20-year study from Cornell University showed that people were more satisfied when they spent money on experiences instead of on material purchases. A second study from San Francisco State University says the same thing: people who buy experiences over things are happier. Kali Hawlk
• Plenty of recent research has shown that people tend to derive more happiness from spending their money on experiences, such as travel and entertainment, than on things, such as clothing and gadgets. Susan Perry
• The results of studies make it clear that at least among educated people in a rich, industrialized, and democratic part of the Western world, experiences provide more in-the-moment happiness than material goods. Susan Perry
• According to studies, experiences appear to be a more promising route to enhancing well-being than possessions, irrespective of when happiness is measured. Susan Perry
• It would be unfair to compare a shirt to a trip, but when we account for price, we still see this result where experiences are associated with more happiness. Amit Kumar
• If you want to be happier, it might be wise to shift some of your consumption away from material goods and a bit more toward experiences. That would likely lead to greater well-being.  Amit Kumar
• One issue that hasn’t really been examined much is what happens in the here and now — are we happier spending our money on an experience or on a material item? The basic finding from a lot of experiments is that people derive more happiness from their experiences than from their possessions.  Amit Kumar
• In a landmark study in 2003, researchers found that buying experiences—like seeing a Broadway play or going for coffee with a friend—improve our well-being more than buying possessions. Across different surveys, more than 1,500 participants tended to say that experiential purchases made them happier and were better investments, and that their moods were more positive when recalling them.  Kira M. Newman

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The happiness brought by possessions tends to fade quickly…

• Don’t spend your money on things. The t rouble with things is that the happiness they provide fades quickly. There are three critical reasons for this: 1. We get used to new possessions. What once seemed novel and exciting quickly becomes the norm. 2. We keep raising the bar. New purchases lead to new expectations. As soon as we get used to a new possession, we look for an even better one.  3. The Joneses are always lurking nearby. Possessions, by their nature, foster comparisons. We buy a new car and are thrilled with it until a friend buys a better one—and there’s always someone with a better one.  Travis Bradberry
• We often assume buying an item would bring much more satisfaction because of its durable, long-lasting nature. However, it has been determined by behavioural scientists that items often only afford us temporary joy until that spark most certainly wanes.  Geraldine Walsh
• It’s counterintuitive that something like a physical object that you can keep for a long time doesn’t keep you as happy as long as a once-and-done experience does. Ironically, the fact that a material thing is ever present works against it, making it easier to adapt to. It fades into the background and becomes part of the new normal. But while the happiness from material purchases diminishes over time, experiences become an ingrained part of our identity. Jay Cassano
• Much of the research suggests that seeking the good life at a store is an expensive exercise in futility.   Geraldine Walsh
• One of the enemies of happiness is adaptation. We buy things to make us happy, and we succeed. But only for a while. New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them.  Dr. Thomas Gilovich

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…unlike experiences which never lose their lustre…

• While buying a new house, car, iPhone, or hamburger and soft drink from a fast food restaurant might satisfy you momentarily, it will not last. Experiences on the other hand, live on forever. If you spend money on experiences, as opposed to material or quantifiable items, you are going to experience much more joy and contentment in your life.  Mike Oppland
• Experiences are priceless while material items always have an expiration date. Mike Oppland
• Experiences will never lose their luster. Sure you spent $100 on the Mumford and Sons concert tickets, but that is an experience you will never forget. You can always go back to that moment and conjure up pleasant feelings. Perhaps you will never forget a night out you had with friends-dinner, movies, and dancing. You will never forget when you went to the Super Bowl or backpacked through Europe or Southeast Asia. These are life experiences that will never be replaced no matter how many cars or gadgets you buy. Mike Oppland
• Possessions can be replaced, memories cannot. Zach Smith
• Why are experiences superior to possessions? First, most possessions don’t tend to change after we’ve bought them, so we adapt to them a great deal faster. Once we open the box and put our new item on the shelf, or in the closet or garage, it won’t be long before we feel like it’s been there forever. Whereas material objects typically grow old and dull with time, until we are eager to replace them, experiences can actually grow even more positive and more enjoyable as time passes. A wonderful weekend, dinner, or conversation can become burnished and embellished in our memories and brings happiness every time we revisit it.  Sonja Lyubomirsky Ph.D.

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…due to memories that last a life time

• Experiences keep on giving in the form of fulfillment from your memories: Over time, the ongoing memory dividend can sometimes add up to more experience points than the original experience provided.  Bill Perkins
• Experiences are more memorable than possessions. Bill Perkins
• Invest in experiences that yield long-lasting memories, always bear in mind that everyone’s health declines with age, give your money to your children before you die instead of saving for their inheritance, and learn to balance current enjoyment with later gratification. Bill Perkins
• At the end of my life, I am convinced, my joy will come from my memories. Bill Perkins
• Experiential purchases are also more associated with identity, connection, and social behavior. Looking back on purchases made, experiences make people happier than do possessions. It’s kind of counter to the logic that if you pay for an experience, like a vacation, it will be over and gone; but if you buy a tangible thing, a couch, at least you’ll have it for a long time. James Hamblin
• There is an argument that experiences are often fleeting and may not hold the same value. But those moments are memorable amidst everything else which may be happening in our lives at that time. Martina Perry
• Experiences are unforgettable and joyful memories. Mike Oppland
• All our possessions will eventually find their way to a junkyard, but our memories are free to be shared and enjoyed with others for many years. Zach Smith
• A wonderful weekend, dinner, or conversation can become burnished and embellished in our memories and brings happiness every time we revisit it.  Sonja Lyubomirsky Ph.D.

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In fact, memories of experiences often get even better over time due to nostalgia

• In the same way that a family story gets more exaggerated and funny each time Grandpa tells it, memories become more positive as time passes—a phenomenon known as “rosy recollection” (Mitchell et al., 1997). When recalling college, people may fondly remember cherished friends and zany weekend adventures, but not the homesickness or the stress of term papers. When replaying experiences in our mind’s eye, like a zealous movie editor, we often leave the boring and forgettable scenes on Thrift 34 the cutting room floor to produce a more enjoyable flick. But possessions, such as cars and gizmos, just accumulate scratches and dents, until they end up in a junkyard or landfill.  Sonja Lyubomirsky
• Experiences tend to blossom as you recall them, not diminish.  In your memory, you’re free to embellish and elaborate. Your trip to Mexico may have been an endless parade of hassles punctuated by a few exquisite moments. But looking back on it, your brain can edit out the surly cabdrivers, remembering only the glorious sunsets. So next time you think that arranging a vacation is more trouble than it’s worth—or a cost you’d rather not shoulder—factor in the delayed impact. David Futrelle

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Experiences thus tend to gain in value over time, bringing lasting value

• Unlike material possessions, which seem exciting at the beginning but then often depreciate quickly, experiences actually gain in value over time: They pay what I call a memory dividend. Bill Perkins
• Buying an experience doesn’t just buy you the experience itself—it also buys you the sum of all the dividends that experience will bring for the rest of your life. Bill Perkins
• Due to compounding, your financial savings don’t just add up—they begin to snowball. And the same thing can happen with your memory dividends—they also can and will compound. This happens whenever you share the memory of the experience with other people. Bill Perkins
• Research published in the Journal of Positive Psychology reveals that people who spent money on experiences rather than on material goods were happier because the excitement we often get from purchasing things tends to diminish quickly as we get used to them and start taking them for granted. However, the joy and memories experiences bring can give us stronger feelings of satisfaction. That can be true even if the experience doesn’t last nearly as long as the physical item that we purchased. Geraldine Walsh
• Trying new things has the power to change our perception of time; feeding our brains new information on a regular basis can help us avoid that all-too-familiar feeling that time is flying by faster and faster each year. Only people and experiences – not more stuff – can provide us with real and lasting value. Kali Hawlk
• Possessions break, but memories keep getting better. Zach Smith
• Experiences never fade to the mundane, but objects always do. Enduring happiness comes from breaking out of our everyday routine, trying something new, and traveling around the world. Dan Elias Bliss
• Experiences are fleeting which is a good thing.  The very fact that they last for only a short time is part of what makes us value them so much, and that value tends to increase as time passes. Travis Bradberry

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Experiences also tend to bring a greater deal of enjoyable anticipation before the experience

• Essentially, when you can’t live in a moment, they say, it’s best to live in anticipation of an experience. Experiential purchases like trips, concerts, movies, et cetera, tend to trump material purchases because the utility of buying anything really starts accruing before you buy it. James Hamblin
• While experiences are designed to be fleeting, they provide high level of arousal and memorability thanks to anticipation. John Rampton
• In reality, we remember experiences long afterward, while we soon become used to our possessions. At the same time, we also enjoy the anticipation of having an experience more than the anticipation of owning a possession. Dr. Thomas Gilovich
• The anticipation of an experience can even bring us greater happiness than the experience itself. And definitely far more than any material item can. Kali Hawlk
• Anticipation for an event brings more happiness than the anticipation of a material good. This is hugely important to note because we spend a lot of our lives waiting (and the average mind spends an estimated 47% of the time wandering). That’s a long time. So what are our minds spending all of that time waiting and wandering to? Kali Hawlk
• Anticipation of an experience causes excitement and enjoyment, while anticipation of obtaining a possession causes impatience. Experiences are enjoyable from the very first moments of planning, all the way through to the memories you cherish forever. Travis Bradberry

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Experiences can change us and help make us who we are

• Unlike stuff, experiences introduce you to new perspectives, life lessons and the importance of gratitude. John Rampton
• Our experiences are part of us and our relationship, much more than any material thing ever will be. Material things are disposal, our experiences are not, and they make us who we are.  Martina Perry
• A material item like a car or a TV is an item that is separable from you. Experiences are more likely to become part of who you are as a person.  Geraldine Walsh

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Experiences can bring us valuable life lessons…

• Experiences teach you life lessons.  Experiences are worth investing in because they teach you life lessons that you won’t acquire anywhere else.  Mike Oppland

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…and can provide us with new perspectives on life and the world

• Experiences introduce you to different worldly perspectives. Perhaps there is no better way to learn about worldly perspectives than traveling. Traveling is undeniably one of the greatest ways to experience various cultures and social norms. It is an education that you will never experience in a classroom.  And you don’t have to travel to appreciate a new worldly outlook. Spending time in nature can be extremely meditative and healing.  Mike Oppland

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Experiences can help us discover our purpose and passion

• Failure to spend money on experiences means failure to discover your purpose and passions.  Mike Oppland

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Experiences tend to become an integral part of our identity

• The main idea here is that your life is the sum of your experiences. This just means that everything you do in life—all the daily, weekly, monthly, annual, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences you have—adds up to who you are. When you look back on your life, the richness of those experiences will determine your judgment of how full a life you’ve led. Bill Perkins
• Experiences become a part of our identity. We are not our possessions, but we are the accumulation of everything we’ve seen, the things we’ve done, and the places we’ve been. Buying an Apple Watch isn’t going to change who you are; taking a break from work to hike the Appalachian Trail from start to finish most certainly will.  Dr. Thomas Gilovich
• Our experiences are a bigger part of ourselves than our material goods. You can really like your material stuff. You can even think that part of your identity is connected to those things, but nonetheless they remain separate from you. In contrast, your experiences really are part of you. We are the sum total of our experiences. Dr. Thomas Gilovich
• It’s not the things that we bought that mattered, it’s the experiences we had along the way that became a part of your identity that defined who you are. Kali Hawlk
• People identify with their experiences far more than their possessions. Possessions always remain apart from us—tucked away on a shelf or in storage. But experiences are encoded into our existence and our ‘affective endowments’. They become a part of us—in our minds and memories. One cannot help but carry them everywhere. Sonja Lyubomirsky
• You’ve probably never connected with anyone by showing them the things you own because possessions don’t reveal who you are, and cease to cause genuine connections. Experiences reflect more on who you are then any object ever could. Sharing our experiences and stories allows us to bond with others in a deep and meaningful way. Dan Elias Bliss
• Possessions don’t connect us.  Experiences are fleeting, but that’s not a bad thing. No matter how hard we try, we can’t capture every second of life’s most important moments. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean the happiness and impact of those moments fades with time passing.  In fact, those experiences become part of you. Your identity is not defined by your possessions, but is actually an accumulation of the places you’ve been, lessons you’ve learned, and the experiences you’ve had. Buying something new won’t be a life-changing event, but traveling and living in a foreign country will be. Dan Elias Bliss
• The story emerging from the research is that experiences become part of our identity, which makes them feel valuable in their own right.   Kira M. Newman

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Experiences can be shared with friends…

• We consume experiences directly with other people and after they’re gone, they’re part of the stories that we tell to one another. Dr. Thomas Gilovich
• Even when basic physical needs are met, people still crave competence, autonomy, and connections with other people. An experience, rather than a possession, is more likely to address one or more of these needs. For example, even the most mundane activity—such as buying groceries or visiting the doctor—becomes fun when a friend comes along. Activities are more naturally shared, anticipated, and relived with others, and doing so can build and strengthen relationships. Experiences often involve unexpected challenges or adventures, which can help us learn and build competence. Conversely, once bought, continuing to possess something is rarely a challenge, unless one has overspent and a creditor is repossessing.  Sonja Lyubomirsky
• Experiences are more social. Remember back to a time when you went to a concert, fair or any large gathering. Some of your most powerful memories of that time will probably revolve around the people you interacted with. People are naturally social creatures and need the social interaction that experiences provide. Steve Bloom
• Purchasing an item is often a solitary action, especially when buying online.   When we participate in experiences with friends, family, co-workers and others, those experiences may strengthen and enhance the relationships that are most important to us. Memories from shared experiences can later be recalled among the people who took part in them, as well as told to others who weren’t part of the experience. Geraldine Walsh
• Not all experiences are created equal, though, and it’s up to us to choose the ones that are most fulfilling. In a 2013 study, when researchers separated out experiential purchases into social ones and solitary ones—going out to dinner with friends or alone, for example—participants reported that the solitary experiences brought just as little happiness as the material things.  “It may be less the doing that creates happiness than it is sharing the doing,” the authors of that study explain.  Even if we can’t share an experience with others initially, we can share it with them later by telling the story—another advantage that experiences have over material things. Our new kitchen gadget or trench coat loses its conversation value shortly after we buy it, but “talking to others allows us to relive experiences long after they have happened. In this sense, experiential purchases are gifts that keep on giving,” write the authors of a 2015 study.  Kira M. Newman
• Experiences are intrinsically more social—more likely to be shared, anticipated, and relived with other people—than are things. Vacationing or bowling with a friend is a lot more likely to cement our friendship than discussing our new wristwatch or bedroom set.  Sonja Lyubomirsky Ph.D.

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…including after the event through conversation and storytelling

• It’s the fleetingness of experiential purchases that endears us to them. Either they’re not around long enough to become imperfect, or they are imperfect, but our memories and stories of them get sweet with time. Even a bad experience becomes a good story. James Hamblin
• Turns out people don’t like hearing about other people’s possessions very much, but they do like hearing about that time you saw Vampire Weekend. Amit Kumar
• Studies have even showed that if people have an experience they say negatively impacted their happiness, once they have the chance to talk about it, their assessment of that experience goes up. Gilovich attributes this to the fact that something that might have been stressful or scary in the past can become a funny story to tell at a party or be looked back on as an invaluable character-building experience.  Jay Cassano
• Experiences create conversation and storytelling. Zach Smith
• We consume experiences directly with other people. And after they’re gone, they’re part of the stories that we tell to one another.  This is becaus it’s easier to feature-compare material goods than experiences.  Dr. Thomas Gilovich
• In fact, that study found that the more we chatter about our experiential purchases, the more happiness we derive from them. This’ll make a great story later is actually a real benefit. A 2012 study also found that people are more likely to mention experiences they bought (vs. material things) when recounting their life story. Kira M. Newman

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Experiences are less prone to comparison than possessions

• Products invite comparisons, but experiences stand apart. Kali Hawlk
• Our experiences are unique to us and cannot be compared to the experiences of others. But when we have stuff, it’s all too easy to compare what we have to what someone else has and to feel like our own possessions are being judged by our social circle and on social media. Kali Hawlk
• No sooner does one buy a 30 GB iPod than a 40 GB version hits the market at the same price. But trips, adventures, and excursions, because they are richer, more variable, and more individualized, resist comparisons to a larger degree. One pair of newlyweds explores a California beach while another jets to a Costa Rican rainforest. Unless one works as a travel agent, equating the two vacations takes a Thrift 35 good deal of effort and imagination. Also, the crucial aspects of any memorable experience may be the most difficult to compare. Even if Sally had gone scuba diving like her roommate, she would not have had the same awe-inspiring glimpse of a whale shark. Although Ben’s honeymoon was shorter than that of his friends, only he enjoyed the company of his wife. Sonja Lyubomirsky
• The tendency of keeping up with the Joneses tends to be more pronounced for material goods than for experiential purchases,. It certainly bothers us if we’re on a vacation and see people staying in a better hotel or flying first class. But it doesn’t produce as much envy as when we’re outgunned on material goods. Dr. Thomas Gilovich
• We don’t compare experiences in the same way that we compare things. In a Harvard study, when people were asked if they’d rather have a high salary that was lower than that of their peers or a low salary that was higher than that of their peers, a lot of them weren’t sure. But when they were asked the same question about the length of a vacation, most people chose a longer vacation, even though it was shorter than that of their peers. It’s hard to quantify the relative value of any two experiences, which makes them that much more enjoyable. Travis Bradberry
• A third reason experiences make us happier than possessions is that we are less likely to compare them to those of others, and thus less likely to learn that they have fallen short. I have shown in several studies that people who compare themselves with others—for example, in how competent or smart they are—are less happy than people who pay little heed to comparisons.  Sonja Lyubomirsky Ph.D.

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Experiences bring active moment to moment enjoyment…

• A possession is a potential pleasure, but an experience is an active enjoyment.  Experiences often involve us actively doing something – climbing up a mountain, hiking a trail, swimming in a lake, taking pictures of the scenery around us. We are forced to be active, to create the experience for ourselves. We find more joy and happiness in being active participants rather than passive bystanders. Zach Smith
• Our experiential purchases bring us greater pleasure in terms of anticipation and remembrance than do our material purchases, but they also bring us greater in-the-moment enjoyment. Susan Perry

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…and can make us feel more alive

• Experiences make you feel alive One of the most interesting things about experiences is how they can make you feel alive. Just as exercise increases overall health, the vitality that comes with experiences can be invigorating. It’s the difference between climbing a mountain and seeing the view from the top and just watching a video of the view. The accomplishment is uplifting and good for the soul. Steve Bloom

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Experiences can provide us with a more active, healthy life style

• Experiences can lead to a healthier life.  While not all experiences are inherently healthy, those who live more active lifestyles typically experience better overall mood levels, longer lifespans, and a more healthy and gregarious attitude – along with a glowing outward appearance. Kali Hawlk

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Experiences are more full of surprises

• Possessions are predictable, but experiences are full of surprises. Zach Smith

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Experiences tend to slow down our perception of time

• The way in which the brain handles new experiences changes how we perceive time. Familiar information is quickly recorded in the mind and makes it seem like time is passing more quickly; new experiences, however, are processed more slowly which makes time feel like it is moving slower. The value of having time slow down as we age can’t be overstated. If we want to get the most out of the rest of our years, we need to seek new experiences. Kali Hawlk

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Experiences tend to bring a greater sense of gratitude

• Experiences, which you find worthwhile and meaningful, are prime opportunities for you to express gratitude. If you fill up your life with experiences imagine how grateful you are going to be for your existence. Living gratefully is the best way for you to live happily. Inundate your life with grateful experiences, and notice how better you feel about life. Mike Oppland

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Many of the best experiences are free

• Possessions cost money, but many experiences are free. The best part about most experiences is that they’re free. It doesn’t cost a dime to spend time in nature.  Zach Smith

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As a result of all this, the purchase of experiences is less prone to regret than the purchase of possessions

• Compared to possessions, we worry less about what others will think of our experiences, and they don’t generate the same kind of regret. If anything, we lament the experiences we didn’t buy: the shows we were too busy to attend, the trips we put off.    Kira M. Newman

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Shift more of your consumption away from possessions to experiences

• Instead of investing your time and money into stuff that is unfulfilling and will wear out sooner or later, focus on trying new things and building important relationships. Kali Hawlk
• Continue to purchase the things you need in life. You need a place to live and a car to drive. You need certain amounts of technology. Before you acquire your next material item ask yourself if there is an experience you could be spending your money on instead. Mike Oppland

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Think of money, at least partially, as a means to buy experiences

• Money is just a means to an end—a way to buy the meaningful experiences that make up your life. Bill Perkins
• The same mistake I’m always harping about: earning and earning while forgetting that your whole point in earning money is to be able to spend it on the experiences that make your life what it is..  Bill Perkins

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Spend your money and energy to maximise your life experiences and thereby, maximise your enjoyment and happiness

• We all face some version of this question. Of course, the dollar amounts differ from person to person, often dramatically, but the core question is the same for all of us: What’s the best way to allocate our life energy before we die?   Bill Perkins
• Since the reward of processing energy is the experiences that you get to choose, it stands to reason that the way to make the most of your life is to maximize the number of these life experiences—particularly positive ones. Bill Perkins
• Money is just a means to an end: Having money helps you to achieve the more important goal of enjoying your life. But trying to maximize money actually gets in the way of achieving the more important goal. Bill Perkins
• Maximizing your fulfillment from experiences—by planning how you will spend your time and money to achieve the biggest peaks you can with the resources you have—is how you maximize your life. Bill Perkins
• My number one rule is: Maximize your life experiences. So spend your money while you’re alive—whether it’s on yourself, your loved ones, or charity. And beyond that, find the optimal times to spend money. Bill Perkins

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Think about what experiences you would most like to have

• Start actively thinking about the life experiences you’d like to have, and the number of times you’d like to have them. The experiences can be large or small, free or costly, charitable or hedonistic. But think about what you really want out of this life in terms of meaningful and memorable experiences.  Bill Perkins
• Don’t aimlessly throw money away at any opportunity that comes your way; rather, research and decide what experiences are right for you. Mike Oppland

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When thinking of experiences, think smaller and more frequent

• Think smaller and more frequent. It’s easy to think that only big and expensive experiences, such as a grand vacation every year or two, are the way to go. But, spending on smaller experiences more frequently may give you more satisfaction and bang for your buck. Geraldine Walsh

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Start investing in experiences early

• Remember that ‘early’ is right now. Of those experiences you thought about earlier, think about which ones would be appropriate to invest in today, this month, or this year. If you’re resisting having them now, consider the risk of not having them now. Think about the people you’d like to have experiences with—and picture the memory dividends you stand to gain from having those experiences sooner rather than later. Think about how you can actively enhance your memory dividends. Bill Perkins
• Since the whole point of money is to have experiences, investing money to get a return with which to have experiences is a roundabout way of having experiences. Why go through all that when you can just invest directly in experiences—and get a return on experiences? Not only that, but the number of actual experiences available to you diminishes as you age. Yes, you need money to survive in retirement, but the main thing you’ll be retiring on will be your memories—so make sure you invest enough in those. Bill Perkins
• Here’s my investment advice in a nutshell: Invest in your life’s experiences—and start early, start early, start early. Bill Perkins

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When planning experiences, think of your life as distinct seasons

• If your capacity to enjoy life experiences is higher at some ages than others, then it makes sense to spend more of your money at certain ages than others! Bill Perkins
• If time-bucketing your whole life feels a bit overwhelming, just do the exercise with three time buckets covering the next 30 years. Know you can always add more to your list; just do it long before your age and health become a real factor. If you have children … What one experience do you want to have more of with them in the next year or two, before that phase of their life and your life is over?  Bill Perkins
• When I say that we die many deaths in the course of our lives: The teenager in you dies, the college student in you dies, the single unattached you dies, the version of you that’s a parent of an infant dies, and so on. Once each of these mini-deaths occurs, there’s no going back. Bill Perkins
• Time buckets are a simple tool for discovering what you want your life to look like in broad strokes. Here’s what I suggest you do. Draw a timeline of your life from now to the grave, then divide it into intervals of five or ten years. Each of those intervals—say, from age 30 to 40, or from 70 to 75—is a time bucket, which is just a random grouping of years. Then think about what key experiences—activities or events—you definitely want to have during your lifetime. Bill Perkins
• By dividing goals into time buckets, you are taking a much more proactive approach to your life. Bill Perkins

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It  is best to invest in certain experiences while you are younger and healthier

• Think about your current physical health: What life experiences can you have now that you might not be able to have later? Think of one way in which you can invest your time or your money to improve your health and thereby improve all of your future life experiences. Learn about how to improve your eating habits to improve your health. Do more of the physical activities that you already enjoy (such as dancing or hiking) that will also improve your enjoyment of future experiences. If your ability to enjoy experiences is more constrained by time than by money or by health, think of one or two ways you can spend some money now to free up more of your time. Bill Perkins

• Your ability to enjoy many experiences in life depends on your health—but money plays a part, too, because a lot of activities cost money. So you’d better spend the money when you still have the health. Bill Perkins

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Extract more happiness from your possessions by focusing on the experiences they facilitate

• With a little change in perspective, twe can extract more happiness from our possessions by focusing on the experiences they facilitate. At least three different studies found that thinking about gray-area purchases like music and TVs more as experiences than objects helped people see them as more self-expressive and reduce the risk of buyer’s remorse. So the next time you buy a new flatscreen, think of it not as a fancy piece of technology but as a prop for cosy evenings with your spouse, and you might enjoy it all the more. Kira M. Newman

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Some argue we should aim to die with zero

• If you spend hours and hours of your life acquiring money and then die without spending all of that money, then you’ve needlessly wasted too many precious hours of your life. There is just no way to get those hours back. Bill Perkins
• If you don’t want to squander your life energy, you should aim to spend all your money before you die. Bill Perkins
• People who save tend to save too much for too late in their lives. They are depriving themselves now just to care for a much, much older future self—a future self that may never live long enough to enjoy that money.  Bill Perkins