Shopaholics of the world, rejoice!

A study from San Francisco State University social scientists says money may actually be able to buy happiness after all.

Now stop rejoicing. As it turns out, the study does not justify going to the mall, hunting for bargains or accumulating "stuff." Why? Because no matter how much you love that pair of shoes or that sleek new phone, chances are you're going to get bored with it.

It also does not say that more money equals more happiness. Top of the line, bottom of the bargain bin, it doesn't matter. It's not how much you spend, but what you spend it on that matters. So, if you're trying to buy yourself a bit of joy, give yourself a life experience rather than add to your possession of material goods.

Gather together some people you like, settle on an activity and then do it. Make connections. Make memories.

Memories are priceless, but once you've made them, they're yours forever. So, say the researchers, if you're going to spend money, go for the good stuff because happy memories aren't as likely to lose their luster quickly as this month's hottest trend. If memories are boring, don't you just forget them?

I've been doing a lot of reminiscing lately, reconnecting with old friends online, catching up and looking back. While there are certain things that we'll never be able to put a positive spin on, for the most part, considering our youthful dramas from a parent's perspective has been at the very least an amusing diversion from the current drama in my life.

There really is something therapeutic about old memories that can still make you laugh decades later. There's something empowering about them, too.

So my closet optimist has emerged and proclaimed it time to stock up on more opportunities to laugh, or learn something interesting, or even take a chance on something that might end up being so horrible that I'll at least have an amusing anecdote.

I like the stash of travel dramedys the kids and I have been collecting more than the contrived fun. Now that we've dusted off after an imperfect getaway to Kona, even my son, who proclaimed that lost weekend so miserable that he'd never travel with me again, has revised his opinion. When I offered him a chance to stay home and play video games for two weeks over spring break or pick our next destination, I can't say I was surprised that he was almost as eager to travel as I was to grab a ridiculously low airfare.

But I wasn't motivated by the bargain airfare as much as I was by the opportunity to get away from all the stress of our regularly scheduled lives. For some reason, stress in a new location is always energizing, but this time I'm hedging my bets by scheduling in some downtime before and after the actual trip so that we can actually use some of our time to to relax, reset and recharge.

If it turns out to be a misstep, hopefully it will be one worthy of familial lore so at the very least it will be useful for giggles in the future.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com. Read her daily blog at blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com.