With the holidays approaching, the usual gift giving fever marches along with it. The little rush of joy when gifted a much “needed” item is universal amongst many, but alas, it dies down over time. Those seconds of pure excitement can give the impression that if someone had an unlimited budget, they would always be happy. However, money can’t make up for non-material aspects of life. 

If someone has a generous amount of wealth and is still miserable, more money won’t summon happiness out of thin air. Money is just an item. Because of this, portraying it as something interchangeable for things beyond surface level is dense. 

The seconds, minutes, hours, someone would spend wasting money and shopping could be used for more fulfilling experiences. Relishing in the moment and looking back to fond memories brings more to oneself compared to a new pair of expensive pants. In a survey run by Lendingtree, 54% of the over 2,100 respondents said that when they spent money on themselves to make them happier, it was only a temporary fix. 

Some could say that because people get joy out of receiving gifts, they could just constantly buy themselves things so they would always be happy. However, at some point the continuous packages arriving on the doorstep would get familiar. There would be no joy in receiving items if someone has grown accustomed to getting anything they want. That entire cycle/system set up, would crash and burn in only a matter of time.   

Humanity as a whole is stuck in a materialistic mindset of wanting more and more. People should embrace the depth of life and throw away such a shallow perspective. Eventually, money won’t be able to supply the same satisfaction in life that someone would get out of real connections and experiences.