“Buy experiences, not things”, so goes the popular advice. Things, after a short-lived honeymoon period, will quickly come to disappoint you. Experiences, by their short-livedness, will not.

A notable body of research supports this, though as with many (trendy) social science findings, I'd test intuitively and tentatively, waiting to see if the theory reproduces and generalizes.

Under this guidance, I have consumed many new experiences. I have traveled to see friends in different cities, for example. I treasure those times.

However, under this same guidance, I have also still consumed many things. Cooking constitutes experiences, right? So I bought some fancy pan, and some fancy knives. Quite soon, that pan and those knives turned into just things.

Even if I should buy experiences, not things, I shouldn't trick myself into thinking things represent experiences. Nor should I trick myself into such expensive, marginally different experiences. In the nth haute tasting menu, the caviar tastes as empty as my wallet.