Can you buy happiness?

Ever heard of a phenomenon called "Retail therapy"? It's often thrown around because it supposes that shopping makes people happier. A lot of my friends have told me that this is true. In fact, sometimes even I think that just by buying something, my mood lifts.

It's odd though, if you think about it. You spend at least eight hours a day working, five days a week (if you're lucky like me!). At the end of the month, you have a pay cheque that forces you to become an adult and take care of all your bills. If you're lucky, you'll manage to stash away a little amount towards that dream holiday and vacation.

In my first posting, I was all alone. No family and all friends were only available on the phone. My biggest expenditure (even before my electricity bill) was my entertainment expenditure, which consisted of my lone internet connection and trusty mobile phone. My connection with these items gave new meaning to the term 'till death do us part'.

I came up with a plan while on my first posting. And it was this.

If you spend so much time working, shouldn't you spend a few hours on yourself? So I decided that the day I get my pay cheque, I would withdraw exactly Rs 1000 (not a big amount) and spend it on myself. (Now if you're thinking I don't donate to charity - please don't think that, because I do!!). But apart from my deduction u/s 80G of the Income Tax Act, I decided that Rs 1000 should be spent on myself every month.

Now note the words "spent on myself". In other words - go out and pamper yourself!! You're only young, single and rich (well, comparatively rich cuz they don't pay me so much!!) once!! This is before the hubby comes along, and the kids, and the car and house payments, and the medical problems... I could go on and on and on....

So what did I do? Well, being a girl I ofcourse I need my beauty doses once in a while - ofcourse - a necessary expenditure. Nothing makes a girl feel more pampered than a face pack. But apart from that, being the bibliophile that I am, I decided that I would buy one book a month. Any book that interests me, and a book that I would spend at least an hour reading.

So even though it took me six months to locate the bookshop, once I did, I was on a roll. I bought quite a few books in my two year posting there: Some included Buddha or Bust by Perry Garfinkle; The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova... and I read many many books: The Everest Hotel, The Gathering (not that great a read), Enduring Love - to name a few.

So did buying the books make me feel better? Or was it the fact that the books I bought and read made me further love my hobby and that in turn made me happier? Or was it the fact that it was my own hard earned money that I was spending that made me feel good?

Maybe it was a combination of all three. Whatever be the case, in my case at least, retail therapy definitely helps!!

But so does... a hot chocolate fudge sundae from Nirulas...
... Mississippi Mud Pie from the Big Chill
and ofcourse ... the good Hollywood/Bollywood movie!!