By Candice Wyatt

Photo Credit: realadventures.com

MasterCard is right. For every materialistic product we purchase, there’s a dollar amount attached to it.  Experiences and memories, however, are unique and priceless.  There is no depreciation in the value, no newer edition that will be released later that year making your recent purchase obsolete.  When, and hopefully never, a fire breaks out in your apartment or house, do you think you’ll grab the materialistic things or photos?  Possessions are replaceable, but experiences aren’t.

Being called “materialistic” is often an insult and studies such as, “Life Values and Adolescent Mental Health,” conducted by Patricia and Jacob Cohen, statistician and psychologist with a PhD, have shown that materialism is positively correlated with psychological problems such as depression, paranoia and narcissism.

In 2003, Dr. Leaf Van Boven, psychology professor at University of Colorado at Boulder, conducted a nationwide telephone survey with over 1,200 participants.  Approximately 100 questions were included in the survey.  “Respondents were asked to think of an experiential purchase and a material purchase they had made during their lifetime with ‘the aim of increasing your happiness.’  Respondents were then asked, ‘When you think about these two purchases, which makes you happier?’” stated Van Boven’s study, “Experientialism, Materialism, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Fifty-seven percent indicated the experiential purchase made them happier compared to the 34 percent that chose material purchase.

Van Boven then went on to conduct a study of university students where students were asked to write out a detailed description of either an experiential or materialistic purchase.  Students were also asked to report their current feelings.  A week later, they were asked to read and contemplate their purchase description and again report their current feelings.  Survey results were consistent with the telephone survey and found that “students experienced more positive feelings about their experiential purchase than after thinking about their material purchase,” stated Van Boven in his study.

Van Boven believed the reasons why experiential purchases make people happier is because experiences are more likely to be reinterpreted positively later in life. Experiences are less prone to disadvantageous comparisons, such as your 8 GB iPod being less valued in comparison to your friend’s 16 GB iPod, and experiences are more likely to foster successful social relationships by giving an individual a story to tell in conversation.

Psychology jargon and extravagant studies set aside, here are a few local adventures sure to make some memories with friends, wow your date and not empty your bank account.

1)     Enjoy a relaxing winery tour –Bernardo Winery, located off the I-15 at 13330 Paseo del Verano Norte, is over 100 years old.  For $18 a person (with a group of eight or more), you will receive a guided walking tour, a private wine tasting of five wines paired with assorted California cheeses, roasted garlic, olives, sundried tomatoes, goat cheese in fine herbs, crackers and baguettes.  You’ll finish off with a bottle of Barnardo Winery Champagne or sparkling Moscato Rose.  While reservations are required for the group tour, you can opt to take an independent tour daily between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  You can bring a date or a friend, walk around the winery, and enjoy five tastings for only $8.  Don’t forget to try their homemade pasta and olive oil.  Winery Village Shops are also on the premises.  For more information, call (858) 676-1866 or visit www.bernardowinery.com.

2)    Kayak through La Jolla caves or amidst a beautiful sunset. You don’t need any kayak experience to take these tours!  You and a guest can split the costs; order your tour online and show up for the adventure.  By ordering online, you pay rates as low as $64 for a double kayak for you and your guest to tour the seven caves, or $75 for a two-hour double kayak sunset tour.  Pricing includes an introductory instruction and training session, a certified ocean kayak tour guide, life jackets and the kayak rental.  Wetsuit rentals are $5.  Online reservations receive special pricing and can be purchased at www.sandiegobikeandkayak.com.

3)    Ladies and gents get a deal at Happy Trails Horse Rentals – Located in San Diego, Happy Trails has an online printable coupon for women and men.  Reserve a tour on Wednesdays and ladies ride for only $35 per hour.  Men have the same special on Tuesdays.  Reservations can be made by calling (619) 443-3517.