Psyblog explains the psychological reasons why material possessions can be so dissatisfying in the long term, as opposed to experiential purchases like concert tickets or a meal out, which often seem to even appreciate in value in our minds as time passes.

The article also explains how one can learn to be more content with those material possessions we do end up buying (in spite of our better knowledge): by thinking of them in experiential terms.

By thinking experientially we can make more of what we already have and ward off the invidious comparisons that can make the treadmill of consumer culture so unsatisfying.

Six psychological reasons consumer culture is so unsatisfying.