Why You Should Invest Your Money in Experiences, Not Things

Everyone works to earn money. Nobody goes to work just because they love their job, whatever it may be. Some work to pay the bills, others to pay off the mortgage on the home they’ve waited for and dreamed of, and others still to make money and chase bigger goals. Whatever the reason, the goal is money. But after working so hard, do you ever stop to think about how and on what you spend what’s left of your salary once you’ve covered your costs? The truth is you probably can’t remember – you just know the money’s gone.

According to science, we spend the most money on whatever makes us happy. Given that happiness is a pretty relative thing – it means one thing to me and something completely different to you – I’ll save you the musing. We spend the most money on things, usually clothes or gadgets. That’s because we think the happiness from our new purchases will last as long as the item is useful to us, but sadly that’s far from the case. The happiness fades fast. Wondering why? Because you get used to your new things and want newer, even better ones.

From my own short life experience, I can say that experiences, however brief they may be, bring you far more lasting emotions and memories. I still remember the feeling of going to the cinema for the very first time, or the joy of flying on a plane for the first time – on my own, no less. Yes, these things happened to me at least 15 years ago, but I remember how I felt. I don’t remember what I was wearing, or how much those “emotions” cost me, but the fact is I remember them.

Every single experience becomes part of who we are and changes us or helps us grow in some way. You are a reflection of the things you do and the places you’ve been. Buying the new iPhone won’t change you as a person, but taking a long break from everything and everyone, packing your bags and spending two weeks – or even just one – somewhere else on the planet certainly will. Without even noticing, you’ll grow as a person, broaden your outlook and enrich your mind.

Our experiences are part of us, while our material possessions are not. Yes, you might really love your latest buys from the shopping centre, and you might even think they express who you are, because you have your own taste – but they’re not part of you. They’re objects. The emotions from your experiences, on the other hand, live inside you, and that’s what makes them part of you.

In reality, every experience, whether it’s a trip or something new you want to try, is short in terms of time – it doesn’t last a lifetime. But it brings you excitement and pleasure from the moment you start planning it right through to the very end, when all you have left are the memories and the emotions you lived through. And it’s those memories that last forever.

Have you ever bought something that turned out not to be nearly as cool as you first thought? And now it just sits there gathering dust at home, reminding you of your disappointment over the money you spent. It’s not like that with experiences. If anything, the very fact that these moments are so fleeting makes us treasure them all the more, and over time they become even more precious to us. Happiness lies in the fact that the moment happened – it was real, we lived it, and now we hold on to the memory of that feeling.