Does delayed gratification = more appreciation?

I’m thinking about this question specifically in terms of buying things. Basically, do you appreciate purchases more when you’ve had to wait for them?

For me, it’s a yes.

When I have to patiently wait to save up for something, or find something on sale/secondhand/free, then when I do finally get that thing, I really, really appreciate it.

And if I had enough money to buy whatever I want, whenever I want it, I think that would reduce my level of appreciation for those purchases.

For example, I saved up for years and years to be able to buy my minivan without a car loan.

I do remember being a little discouraged when I thought about how long it was going to take to save up, but I think those years of waiting made the purchase that much more fulfilling.

The way I did it is slower, but the slowness makes me appreciate it more!

Sometimes I think about what it might be wealthy enough to be able to go out to eat all the time, particularly at fancy restaurants. But I think that I probably appreciate the experience more when it happens precisely because I have to wait a while between experiences.

Or remember that hydrangea that I grew from a stick at my last house? (the stick was a few dollars at Aldi)

I appreciated that bush so much because it took so long for it to become lush and beautiful.

I also think that I derive satisfaction from the scrappiness required to slowly acquire things in a frugal way.

When I look around my bedroom which is furnished almost entirely with free/secondhand stuff, I feel a sense of achievement that I would probably not feel if I’d gone and bought everything new.

For most of my life, I assumed my experience was universal.

But I had a friend some years ago who told me her take was the opposite of mine.

If she wanted something, she found the greatest satisfaction in being able to go out and buy it right away; if she had to wait, the whole experience lost some of its luster.

And I think that is so interesting! Even as I sit here typing this post, I have a hard time imagining what it would be like to experience life this way; my brain does not comprehend how delayed gratification could be anything but satisfying.

I am not a psychologist, so I am totally spit-balling in this next sentence:

I am thinking: if some of us are more naturally programmed to take some delight in delayed gratification while others are not, then it makes sense that there would be such disparities in how we humans handle money.

If this is true, then for me, frugal living is less of a struggle because it’s a natural fit.

I experience joy from the end result of delayed gratification, and because I know this, I’m able to say no to something in the moment because I know there will be an even better feeling down the road.

And that means I deserve less credit for frugal living as compared to someone like my friend!

I’m guessing that if this is a spectrum, readers of this blog will naturally be more toward the end that enjoys the fruit of delayed gratification.

People who live life this way are going to be more drawn to reading and thinking about frugality, so we are probably not a very representative slice of the population.

Ok, so, I really want to know what you think about this, especially if you are someone who experiences this differently from me! Tell me:

Does delayed gratification decrease or increase your ultimate satisfaction levels?