Hi again and welcome back to the savvy psychologist. I'm your host Dr.

Ellen Hendrickson and every week I'll help you meet life's challenges with

evidence-based research, a sympathetic ear, and

zero judgment.

How is it already August?

June and July flew by in about 10 minutes, leaving us to wonder where all our grand plans for the best summer ever went.

Well, this week, here are five science-backed ways to help you get the most out of the final four weeks of summer, or at least rest assured that it's okay if you don't.

So tip number one is put your money towards experiences, not things.

A recent study in the prestigious Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that spending

money on experiences like a day trip or concert tickets ticket rather than on stuff like clothing or jewelry made participants happier.

But why? Well, there are three reasons.

And in the simplest explanation, experiences stayed with people.

Participants simply thought about the experiences more often than they thought about

possessions, and such reminiscing was pleasurable in and of itself.

Second, the researchers noted that experiences were more open to

quote positive reinterpretation than objects.

Okay, so what does that mean? Well, have you ever

come back from a vacation that had its admittedly stressful moments and still

said, wow, what a great time that was? Essentially, with experiences we filter. Our memory of highlights gets retained or even

embellished, while the negative bits are diminished or even plain forgotten. But objects, objects are pretty much constant, and it's hard to embellish something

unchangeable. In a final explanation, experiences have a greater social value than

possessions, meaning that shared experiences allow people to connect with each other more than shared possessions do.

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