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James Hamblin Buy Experiences Not Things

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The article "Buy Experiences, Not Things" by James Hamblin, in The Atlantic explains that experiences in life make people more happy than material goods do. People are more satisfied with the things they do compared to the things that they own. The article states that more enjoyment is found in anticipating the purchase of an item than is experienced in actually owning the item. People enjoy hearing about experiences other have had whether they shared in the same event or not. People do not like hearing about material items others own.

I agree that getting to experience different things has meant more to me and brought me more happiness than owning things. Musicals are really enjoyable entertainment to me and I own many recorded shows. When I watch my recorded musicals I often end up watching them by myself. The first time I saw a live musical production I enjoyed everything aboutt the whole evening. The people who shared the …show more content…

Reading the books was satisfying but I finished reading them they now sit on a book self collecting dust. Occasionally my whole family decides we haven't watched the movies in awhile and we turn that week-end into a Harry Potter movie marathon. I believe owning the movies and books is nice but enjoying them together with my family makes me happier and creates memories we all will share.

In the article James Hamblin quotes psychologist Matthew Killings worth, "Nothing material is intrinsically valuable except in whatever promise of happiness it carries." Collectors purchase items and carefully store them so the items remain in new condition. A collector holds onto a collection in the hope that eventually the value will increase and the collectables can be sold to make a profit. When telling about a favorite purchase collectors become animated retelling where, when and who they beat out to acquire a

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