As a group that’s devoted itself to travel and helping other people travel, the whole SA Expeditions team was tickled to discovered that two studies seem to confirm that people who embrace new experiences—such as traveling to a new destination—tend to be more content with life and well-liked by others compared to more material spenders.

According to a study by researchers at San Francisco State University, experiential spenders tend to have a higher overall life satisfaction and get along better with others. A 2010 study from the University of Colorado echoes this, saying experiential buyers are more charismatic. Read the full New York Times article about these two studies here.