“If you make a habit of buying things you do not need, you will soon be selling things you do.” —Filipino Proverb
Our experiences hint at it. Studies confirm it.
Buying material things don’t make us happy.
The pursuit and purchase of physical possessions will never fully satisfy our desire for happiness. It may result in temporary joy for some, but the happiness found in buying a new item rarely lasts longer than a few days. Researchers even have a phrase for this temporary fulfillment: retail therapy.
There are many reasons buying more material things won’t make us happy.
9 Reasons Buying Material Things Won’t Make You Happy
They all begin to fade. All possessions are temporary by nature. They look shiny and new in the store. But immediately, as soon as the package is opened, they begin to perish, spoil, or fade.
There is always something new right around the corner. New models, new styles, new improvements, and new features. From clothes and cars to kitchen gadgets and technology, our world moves forward. And planned obsolescence makes sure our most recent purchase will be out of use sooner rather than later.
Each purchase adds extra worry to our lives. Every physical item we bring into our lives represents one more thing that can be broken, scratched, or stolen.
Possessions require maintenance. The things we own require time, energy, and focus. They need to be cleaned, organized, managed, and maintained. And as a result, they often distract us from the things that truly do bring us lasting happiness.
Our purchases cost us more than we realize. In stores, products are measured in dollars and cents. But as Henry David Thoreau once said, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” We don’t buy things with money, we buy them with hours from our lives.
We discover other people aren’t all that impressed. Subconsciously (and sometimes even consciously), we expect our newest purchases will impress other people. They will notice our new car, computer, jacket, or shoes. But most of the time, they are less impressed than we think. Instead, most of them are too busy trying to impress you with their newest purchase.
Someone else always has more. The search for happiness in possessions is always short-lived because it is based on faulty reasoning that buckles under its own weight. If happiness is found in buying material things and more stuff, those with more will always be happier. The game can never be won.
Shopping does not quench our desire for contentment. Contentment is never found in the purchase of more stuff. Our overflowing closets and drawers stand as proof. No matter how much we get, it’s never enough.
Experiences make us happier than possessions. All research points to the fact there are far more effective way to find happiness: enjoying life-changing experiences, for example.
And 1 Thing that Might
Adyashanti, the American-born spiritual teacher, offers a theory as to why the acquisition of new possessions provides only a temporal feeling of happiness. He explains it this way:
When we make a purchase and/or get what we want, we are temporarily happy and fulfilled. But the reason for happiness is not because we got what we wanted, but because for a brief period of time, we stopped wanting, and thus we experience peace and happiness.
On the topic of buying stuff, his thoughts are helpful. And I have repeated his theory dozens of times in private conversations. Of course, the natural conclusion of this thinking is to limit our desires and wants—to find peace and happiness by not wanting.
But for me, this conclusion falls short.
The goal of minimalism is not to remove desire entirely from my life. Instead, the goal of minimalism is to redirect my desires.
There are valuable pursuits available to us: love, justice, faith, compassion, contribution, redemption, just to name a few. These should be pursued with great fervor. But far too often, we trade the pursuit of lasting fulfillment for temporary happiness. We can do better. We can dream bigger.
Redirect your desires toward lasting pursuits. Find happiness there.
You will never find the right things looking in the wrong places. (tweet that)
Ann says
Hi, I couldn’t sleep and so I started surfing the web regarding “buying things you don’t need” and came across this blog. In the last few months my purchasing or just shopping/looking for things to buy as increased to the point I know it could become a problem. The reason is, I know, deep down if I “just buy that ring” everything will be okay and I will be happy. I did just that today and after only a few hours the “buzz” of the purchase has gone but I was back online searching for other items which I may not even buy. The issue can be the searching or shopping for items without actually purchasing them as the buying of them itself. It is frustrating as I am a reasonably intelligent person and know that what I am doing is pretty stupid. I am not buying expensive items, just stuff I don’t need. It is masking other underlying issues there the issues we all need to address, its just knowing what they are and where to start…..
shaneela says
are you me? you literally just typed my exact thoughts.
Mr. Martin says
I come back to this post anytime I feel the need to remind myself why I should not purchase that item. Do I really need it..? That’s the question. But there is nothing wrong with treating yourself to something nice once in a while. Life is too short. Just don’t fill that life up with endless crap that you do not need.
Jolly Tilo Panget says
How can you sell things that you need when it is food? Isnt it that when you are running out of cash you instinctively sell the things you do not need in the first place. That is a dumb proverb haha.
Aging Hippie says
I think this is only true if you buy things for the wrong reasons. But if the things you buy are based on their utility and value to you, and if they really do provide the utility you expected, then buying things will reduce the time or energy you spend accomplishing your goals, which can make you happy.
Margot says
True that. Every aspiring musician knows that buying the first instrument (or a new one that is more suitable for their current level) is the purchase that makes them happy for years to come.
minä says
This is probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever read. It’s not that deep.
Do you honestly think people who use retail therapy buy things to impress others? No, they buy things to keep themselves happy, to keep bad thoughts away and the new purchase brings with it a momentary sense of excitement and happiness. It’s obviously not a good thing if it starts taking a toll on your wallet but if a small unnecessary purchase every now and then can keep someone from thinking their life is empty and meaningless then I say: Go for it! Treat yourself! Don’t listen to these stupidly deep posts that try to shame you and call you a materialist. Your feelings are more important than what some people with superiority complex think.
Not everyone has the luxury to be this philosophical and look down on people who are just trying to cope.
ren says
To me, minialmizing means keeping what i treasure, enjoying it, by letting all the things i don’t need anymore. Less things means less to clean, more room to enjoy what I love.
Charles Ventimiglia says
Very good read indeed. Thank you
Yash Trigger says
Wrong statement…! This type of thinking makes a person miser and cannot live the life to fullest. If you don’t purchase what you like and hoard money, then you will feel miserable and guilty in later life and think that i could have purchased when i had time. Remember you get to live only once so live your life to fullest. Buy your desired things if you have money and please share to others also. Don’t be miser or minimalistic as this site says.Remember nature has abundance life.You choose your desires.
TJ says
Right on Josh!
It is sad that we live in a world that uses economic growth instead of societal happiness as the gauge of success. What we use to measure success is amplified in the pursuit of it. This results in corporations that spend more money on marketing the junk they are selling, than they do on producing the products!
As a results billions of people (starting at childhood) are brainwashed to believe that the purchase of this garbage is the key to their happiness. Nearly every television commercial portrays a consumer wearing a glowing smile. Now we have entire cultures that have bought into this belief system, that only results in happiness for the narrow fraction of society profiting from it.
It makes me happy to see that there are people like you fighting to help the world understand the true path to genuine happiness.
Lance Harriss says
I used to buy too much of the same thing. I got into buying men’s heavy sterling silver necklaces and pendants. Now I have numerous necklaces that I never wear. With sterling silver it is the art you are buying not the weight. Then I bought numerous men’s diving watches. Now very few men even wear watches. Now for about three years I have not done any shopping at all. I realized I was a spendaholic and stopped. I feel much better and now gain happiness from nature and reading. Buying thing you don’t need only makes people unhappy and broke.
Elaine Farrah says
One of your best posts ever… If only we could learn these lessons earlier in life !
Jeannie says
I agree with you Elaine… but as they say “Better late than never”. I think if I would have read this 10 years ago I would not have been interested in taking on this lifestyle of paring down, purging and buying less. I believe it is all God’s timing in our life and I was directed to find Joshua and his postings just at the right time in my life. I have only started this process over the last 6 months and know that it is an ongoing process. I won’t tell you that I do not like to shop… because that would not be truthful, but when I do go I am very selective and I question myself with each purchase. Even this year at Christmas I did not like seeing “extra stuff’ coming into my house as I had just cleaned out some drawers and closets and really like finding things so much easier now. I have a long way to go to get where I want to but it things did not happen overnight and I am just being patient and do my decluttering when I have time as there are a lot of ‘experiences” I don’t want to miss out on!! I always get something out of each post and write down what mean the most to me!!