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And if you compare to anything but a handful of recent decades, you not only can afford to buy pretty much anything that only the very richest have had access t

And if you compare to anything but a handful of recent decades, you not only can afford to buy pretty much anything that only the very richest have had access to, you can easily buy things that even the richest have hardly even dreamed of. And yes, still most people find their lives pretty underwhelming.

gallerdude 8y ago
The weird part is how obvious this seems. Obviously, the things we have don't make us significantly happier. But if we lived our lives with this simple assumption, our lives would look infinitely different.
- jdavis703 8y ago
  Expensive things I own or rent that make me happy: * Having my own house (no random roommates or bad family members) * Having a computer and cellphone * Having a bike * Having house plants These things cost money, and also make me happy. I think the key though is to buy and own things that will bring you joy. If maintaining house plants is a chore you’re doing to keep up with trendy design, it won’t bring happiness. If having a house full of greenery helps to you to feel more connected with nature it will bring joy. Figure out the things you own that bring happiness, and don’t buy the rest.
  - okr 8y ago
    That sounds just like me. I wonder if you buy apps. There is so much value for me in cell phones (hm, or rather small computers), that i feel, even if it seems like i do not spend too much, that i get a huge bargain with these small devices: weather, nav, music, video, news, chat, photo, etcetc...
slg 8y ago
Which is why I am always a little dubious about economic metrics used to compare across decades. Sure you can measure the cost of the average basket of fruit from my local grocery store, but how do you quantify the fact that there is a greater variety of fresh fruits available in that store today than the richest person in the world would have access to a century ago.
andrepd 8y ago
>if you compare to anything but a handful of recent decades, you not only can afford to buy pretty much anything that only the very richest have had access to What are you thinking of here?
- jlarocco 8y ago
  No idea what OP was thinking of, but it's easy to think of examples. Any kind of air travel or trans-oceanic travel is a great example. In door plumbing is another good one. Instant communication is another.
  - nojvek 8y ago
    Everything sort of has become instant. Instant entertainment (netflix, hulu), instant travel (Uber,Lyft,flights), instant communication (slack, whatsapp, FaceTime). We live in an age of instant gratification. It only keeps on getting better.

gallerdude 8y ago

The weird part is how obvious this seems. Obviously, the things we have don't make us significantly happier. But if we lived our lives with this simple assumption, our lives would look infinitely different.

jdavis703 8y ago
Expensive things I own or rent that make me happy: * Having my own house (no random roommates or bad family members) * Having a computer and cellphone * Having a bike * Having house plants These things cost money, and also make me happy. I think the key though is to buy and own things that will bring you joy. If maintaining house plants is a chore you’re doing to keep up with trendy design, it won’t bring happiness. If having a house full of greenery helps to you to feel more connected with nature it will bring joy. Figure out the things you own that bring happiness, and don’t buy the rest.
- okr 8y ago
  That sounds just like me. I wonder if you buy apps. There is so much value for me in cell phones (hm, or rather small computers), that i feel, even if it seems like i do not spend too much, that i get a huge bargain with these small devices: weather, nav, music, video, news, chat, photo, etcetc...

slg 8y ago

Which is why I am always a little dubious about economic metrics used to compare across decades. Sure you can measure the cost of the average basket of fruit from my local grocery store, but how do you quantify the fact that there is a greater variety of fresh fruits available in that store today than the richest person in the world would have access to a century ago.

andrepd 8y ago

>if you compare to anything but a handful of recent decades, you not only can afford to buy pretty much anything that only the very richest have had access to What are you thinking of here?

jlarocco 8y ago
No idea what OP was thinking of, but it's easy to think of examples. Any kind of air travel or trans-oceanic travel is a great example. In door plumbing is another good one. Instant communication is another.
- nojvek 8y ago
  Everything sort of has become instant. Instant entertainment (netflix, hulu), instant travel (Uber,Lyft,flights), instant communication (slack, whatsapp, FaceTime). We live in an age of instant gratification. It only keeps on getting better.