Maybe consumers aren’t so irrational after all, John Tierney realizes, when a survey reveals that some of their most expensive purchases are also some of the purchases that brought them the most happiness:
- Houses. Everybody loved their house. A major source of comfort, stability, good family times, aesthetic autonomy.
- Higher education: Most remembered college very fondly as an intellectual and social high point of their lives.
- Travel, especially foreign holidays, family vacations, visits to siblings and friends, living abroad, and sabbaticals.
- Electronics and entertainment media: large-screen HDTVs, DVD/Blu-Ray players, audio equipment, computers, internet.
- Some particular brands and models of cars: BMW 325, 535, M3, and X3, Audi A4, Jaguar, Mazda Miata, Subaru WRX, Toyota Matrix, Prius, and Corolla, Honda Civic.
Some items appeared on the happy lists even though they weren’t expensive:
- Sharing meals with friends, “jolly dinner parties”, eating out socially. The networking necessities for the hyper-social primate.
- Alcohol: beer, wine, rum, “bar tabs”, “Château d’Yquem (Vintage 1967)”.
- Bicycles of all sorts: commuting bikes, street bikes, time-trial bikes, mountain bikes. Much more happiness-provoking than most cars.
- Camping gear, summer camps for kids, sports equipment (especially running, tennis, skiing, swimming, surfing). Physical activity is the most potent anti-depressant, and outdoor activities are the most natural forms of fun.
- Pets, especially dogs and horses; vet care, animal charities, “free orange kitten”, “organic food for cats”, aquaria, bird feeders. Very high happiness for the money — especially dogs, which have been selectively bred to be good human companions for 15,000 years.
- Hobbies: equipment for cooking, gardening, sewing, knitting, woodworking, pottery, photography, art, etc. Natural ways to enjoy and display skills and creativity.
- Adult education classes (art, music, dance, foreign languages, gymnastics, massage)
- Church, congregation membership, charity. Spirituality and altruism were cheap and rewarding.
- Books: High information density per pound; excellent value.
- Music: CDs, iPods, stereo systems, speakers, live concerts, instruments, lessons.
- Artwork, including paintings, prints, lithographs, especially from local artists.
- Leisure software, especially for social networking (email, Facebook) and computer games.
- Quality beds, “excellent mattress”. Sleep quality is a major predictor of night-time comfort and day-time energy.