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My happiest time is Saturday, when my husband and I do mindless errands. We go to the grocery, pick up the dry cleaning, and stop at the pet store to buy dog food for our collies and litter for our persnickety cat.

Experiences like these, not how much money we have or how much stuff we buy, is a key to happiness.

University of Illinois psychologist Ed Diener, for example, studied 49 of the wealthiest Americans, all with a net worth of more than $100 million. The super-rich were only slightly happier than the average person.

No amount of money could undo the misery her children were causing her, said one wealthy woman.

After inventing the Rubik’s cube, Erno Rubik, a poor professor, became Hungary’s richest person.

“While he was showing interviewer John Tierney through his new house, with its pool and sauna and three-car garage and Mercedes, the never-smiling Rubik’s emotions were as gray as the sky,” writes psychologist David Myers.

“Noting that Rubik eliminated the dining room when remodeling his house, Tierney wondered: ‘Do you plan to have many people over to dinner?’ Puffing on a cigarette and gazing out a window, Rubik frowned. ‘I hope not.’”

Rubik may be an oddity. But intriguing new research by psychologists Leaf Van Boven and Thomas Gilovich supports an idea with practical consequences. Buying a pleasurable experience creates far more happiness than buying stuff.

In a nationally representative survey of 1,279 Americans, people were asked to think about a time they had bought an experience and a time they had bought a material good.

People were substantially more likely to say that the experience made them happier (57 percent). Only 34 percent said they got more happiness from their material purchase.

In another study, these psychologists randomly divided people into two groups.

1. The first group was asked to write a description of a material purchase that had made them happy.

2. The second group was asked to write a description of an experience that had made them happy.

A week later, they read over their descriptions, recalled their purchase or their experience, and were asked how happy they felt.

People who thought about their pleasurable experience felt significantly happier than people who thought about pleasurable purchases.

Why does experience beat out stuff?

1. Experiences get better over time. When you think about the time you went out to dinner with good friends, what sticks in your mind is the positive emotions — the warmth and companionship. When you think about a purchase, you are more apt to think about problems with it now. Your new car now has a dent, your new dress now has a stain.

2. Experiences are personal and unique. When we think about our personal experiences, we don’t get envious. No one else has had an experience just like ours.

When we think about material purchases, we compare what we have with what others have. Sure, it’s nice to buy that flat screen high-definition television, but then you visit someone with their own home theater, and you don’t get as much pleasure from your purchase.

3. Experiences are linked to good relationships with other people. When you think about positive experiences, these fond memories are apt to include people you are close to. You probably went on that hike with good friends. Close relationships with friends and family are a wellspring of happiness.

When you talk about experiences, people find you interesting and likable. Who wants to spend time with someone who goes on about what he owns?

Your possessions deteriorate but you can hang on to your pleasurable experiences. I put animal figurines I bought for $2 in Thailand on my window sill. Every time I look at the figurines, I savor memories of the trip.

If you’ve got money to spend, buy an experience. But you don’t need money. Nothing makes my husband and me happier than just doing errands together every Saturday. And I bet you’ll feel especially happy when you get together with friends and family this July 4 weekend.