(1) Downturn’s new spending habits show the way to greater satisfaction.
(2) As the months passed， out went stacks of sweaters， shoes， pots and pans， even the television after a trial separation during which it was relegated to a closet. Eventually， Tammy Strobel and her husband Logan Smith， both 31， got rid of their cars， too. Her mother called her crazy. Today， three years after the couple began downsizing， they live in a studio with a nice-sized kitchen. They have money to travel and to contribute to the education funds of nieces and nephews. Because their debt is paid off， Ms. Strobel works fewer hours， giving her time to be outdoors and to volunteer. “The idea that you need to go bigger to be happy is false，” she says. “I really believe that the acquisition of material goods doesn’t bring about happiness.”
(3) While Ms. Strobel and her husband overhauled their spending habits before the recession， legions of other consumers have since had to adapt in ways that could ultimately make them happier.
(4) New studies of consumption and happiness show， for instance， that people are happier when they spend money on experiences instead of material objects.
(5) While the current round of stinginess may simply be a response to the economic downturn， some analysts say consumers may also be permanently adjusting their spending based on what they’ve discovered about what truly makes them happy or fulfilled.
(6) “This actually is a topic that hasn’t been researched very much until recently，” says Elizabeth Dunn， a psychology professor， who is at the forefront of research on consumption and happiness. “There’s massive literature on income and happiness. It’s amazing how little there is on how to spend your money.”
(7) Studies over the last few decades have shown that money， up to a certain point， makes people happier because it lets them meet basic needs. The latest round of research is all about emotional efficiency: how to reap the most happiness for your dollar.
(8) One major finding is that spending money for an experience — concert tickets， language lessons， dumpling-making classes — produces longer-lasting satisfaction than spending money on plain old stuff. “‘It’s better to go on a vacation than buy a new couch’ is basically the idea，” says Professor Dunn. Jennifer Black， president of the retailing research company Jennifer Black & Associates， said: “I think people are realizing they don’t need what they had. They’re more interested in creating memories.”
(9) Unlike consumption of material goods， spending on leisure and services typically strengthens social bonds， which in turn helps amplify happiness， research suggests. Paying for experiences also gives us longer-lasting happiness， because we can reminisce about them， researchers says. That’s true for even the most exasperating of experiences. That trip to Rome during which you waited in endless lines， broke your camera and argued with your spouse will typically be airbrushed with “rosy recollection”， says Professor Dunn. “Trips aren’t all perfect， but we remember them as perfect.”
(10) And experiences can’t be absorbed at once — it takes more time to adapt to them and engage with them than it does to put on a new leather jacket or turn on that shiny flat-screen TV. “We buy a new house， we get accustomed to it，” says Professor Lyubomirsky， who studies what psychologists call “hedonic adaptation”， a phenomenon in which people quickly become used to changes， great or terrible， in order to maintain a stable level of happiness. “We stop getting pleasure from it，” she says. And then， of course， we buy new things. Scholars have discovered that one way consumers combat hedonic adaptation is to buy many small pleasures instead of one big one. Instead of a new Jaguar， Professor Lyubomirsky advises， buy a massage once a week， have lots of fresh flowers delivered and make phone calls to friends overseas. Instead of a two-week long vacation， take a few three-day weekends. “We do adapt to the little things，” she says， “but because there’s so many， it will take longer.”
(11) Ms. Strobel now writes about her own life choices on the Internet. “My lifestyle now would not be possible if I still had a huge two-bedroom apartment filled with stuff， two cars， and 30 grand in debt，” she says. “Give away some of your stuff. See how it feels.”
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