Would you spend $1,800 on a Prada dress or a weekend in Italy? If you said the dress, chances are you’re less happy and less adventurous than the person who would spend that money on food, travel and other experiences.
妳會花1千8百美元買件Prada洋裝，還是在義大利歡度一個周末？如果你選的是洋裝，很可能與那些選擇享受美食、旅遊及追求其他經驗的人兩相對照，你比較不快樂，也比較沒有冒險精神。

A recent study at San Francisco State University that looked at the personality type and purchasing habits of nearly 100,000 people calculated that about 6 in 10 experiential spenders had overall life satisfaction versus about 4 in 10 of material ones, The Times reported. Experiential spenders also tended to get along better with others and feel less anxiety in social situations.
紐約時報報導，舊金山州立大學最近研究將近10萬人的人格型態及購買習慣後發現，花錢買經驗的人約有六成對整體生活感到滿意；而花錢買東西者這個比例只有四成。同時前者較能與他人和睦相處，在社交場合也比較不會焦慮。

“Typical spending tendencies – buying more, and buying for ourselves – are ineffective at turning money into happiness,” Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, authors of the forthcoming book “Happy Money: The Science of Spending,” wrote in The Times. “If you insist on spending money on yourself, you should shift from buying stuff (TVs and cars) to experiences (trips and special evenings out).”
即將出版的「能帶來快樂的錢：花錢的科學」一書作者伊麗莎白．鄧恩與麥克．諾頓在紐時撰文指出：「典型的花錢傾向─多買、為自己買，化金錢為快樂的效果甚差。就算你堅持非把錢花在自己身上不可，也該從買東西（電視機、汽車等）改成買經驗 （旅遊及外出過個不一樣的夜晚）。」

The “experience” may be what pays off, but we still want our “stuff.” We just expect more from it.
買「經驗」誠然比較值得，可是我們還是愛買「東西」，只是希望能從其中獲得更大的快樂。

Luxurious trappings have always been at the auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s. But apparently masterpieces are no longer enough to lure bidders, so food and drink have become central to the experience. Before an auction of Italian masterworks by Fra Bartolommeo and Simone Martini, Sotheby’s served imported guanciale in vinaigrette. And for a preview before the sale of “The Scream” by Edvard Munch, there was a smorgasbord of Norwegian specialties, reported The Times.
佳士得與蘇富比的拍賣場，布置裝飾一向奢華。然而單靠藝術傑作顯然不再足以吸引買主，佳餚美酒已成為這種場合的重心。據紐時報導，蘇富比在拍賣義大利大師費拉．巴爾托洛梅奧與西蒙涅．馬爾蒂尼的傑作前，先奉上進口的義大利腌肉與酒醋以娛嘉賓。為拍賣愛德華．孟克的名畫「吶喊」舉辦的預展會，也供應挪威式的餐前小菜。

“You can’t have a bowl of nuts on the table anymore – it has to be world-class food,” Lydia Fenet, a Christie’s senior vice president, told The Times. “People want what is new and different.”
佳士得資深副總裁莉底亞．費尼特說：「你再也不能在桌上擺碗乾果饗客了。人們要的是新鮮的，不一樣的。」

Christie’s spent more than $1 million on food and wine in New York last year, reported The Times. It has imported chefs like Thomas Keller and Mario Batali to cook for special occasions. Sotheby’s, which said it had similar expenditures, has invited Daniel Boulud and Nobu Matsuhisa, according to The Times.
紐時報導，去年佳士得僅紐約一地花在佳餚美酒上的錢就超過1百萬美元，曾從國外請來湯瑪斯．凱勒及馬利歐．巴塔尼等名廚，為特殊的場合烹調美食。蘇富比也花了差不多的錢，請來丹尼爾．包魯德與松久信幸等名廚獻藝。

“Food and drink make an auction into an event and not just a sale,” Arlan Ettinger of Guernsey’s auction house in New York City, told The Times.
紐約市格恩西拍賣公司的艾汀格對紐時說：「佳餚美酒能使拍賣會成為一個社交事件，而不只是做買賣的場合。」

Now we expect everything to be an “event” when we spend money. It’ no longer enough for our furniture to be functional and beautiful; it must be emotionally satisfying, too. Hosu, a bright yellow quilted chair that is close to the ground, was designed by Patricia Urquiola for Coalesse. It evolved from research that found that wherever people commune with their hand-held digital devices, they like to lounge close to the floor, The Times reported. Ms. Urquiola described Hosu, which starts at $2,000, as “little nest.” Ergonomic is not an experience, but a “comfort zone” is.
現在每當我們花錢時，都期望買到的是一個「事件」。家具單單是好用美觀，已經不夠；還得滿足我們情感上的需求。派翠西亞．烏奎拉為科尼西公司所設計、擁有鮮黃襯墊絎縫式座椅且接近地面的多功能沙發便是一例。這項設計源自於一項研究結果，研究發現當人們與手持式數位設備融為一體時，總喜歡貼近地面靠著或躺著。烏奎拉稱這種沙發為「一個小窩」，每張2千美元起跳。人體工學不是一種經驗，「安樂窩」的感覺卻是。

Sometimes it’s the smallest things, worthless tchotchkes and objects, that can have the biggest impact. Joshua Glenn, a writer and brand analyst, collected objects from flea markets and thrift stores and asked writers like Luc Sante and Curtis Sittenfeld to create short stories around them. Their narratives added value to the insignificant objects, some selling for as much as 2,700 percent of their value on eBay, reported The Times.
有時最小的東西、毫無價值的配飾及物件卻能產生最大的影響。作家兼品牌分析家格蘭從跳蚤市場及二手商店收集許多小東西，並要求山提及西丹費爾等作家為這些東西寫些小品。有了故事，毫不起眼的東西在eBay上甚至賣到27倍的價格。

Molly Peck, an artist in New York, spent more than $100 on a bobblehead figurine, a button, a hair pick and a gaucho tray, all with stories attached.
紐約藝術家茉莉．佩克便花了100多美元買了一只搖頭娃娃（公仔）、一枚釦子、一只髮夾和一只高楚人的盤子，每件都有個小故事。

She eventually gave her winnings away. “But I have the memory of the experience,” she told The Times.
她後來把這些戰利品全都送了人。她對紐時說：「但這種經驗成了我的回憶。」

“That’s the whole thing. Instead of buying things, you are buying this intangible set of events.”
「就是這麼回事。你買的不是東西，買的是一整套摸不著的事件。」

原文參照：?

2012-07-24聯合報/G5版/UNITEDDAILYNEWS 任中原譯 原文參見紐時週報二版右