8 Reasons To Spend Your Money On Experiences, Not Stuff

If you think investing in something you can see and touch forever would deliver the best value, think again! Here are 8 good reasons to spend your limited time and money on experiences, not stuff.

The best things in life aren’t things

If you’re working hard every day, and you know there’s only so much money left after your regular expenses, you need to be sure you spend what you have wisely to get the best returns. Evidence suggests that experiences are better value in the long run that material things.

Don’t buy stuff — do Stuff!

The happiness shopping for possessions provides quickly fades “The Paradox of Possessions” What once seemed novel and exciting quickly becomes the norm and we soon look for something better, and the cycle begins again. What once seemed novel and exciting quickly becomes the norm. New purchases lead to new expectations. As soon as we get used to a new possession, we look for an even better on. Possessions, by their very nature, foster comparisons. We buy a new car and are thrilled with it until a friend buys a better one—and there’s always someone with a better one.

Experiences form our identity We are the accumulation of everything we’ve seen and done, and the places we’ve been. Buying the latest gadget won’t change who you are as a person; but taking time off work to dig wells in a developing nation probably will. Who you become depends on what you do. You can really like your material things and you may even think that part of your identity is connected to those things, but in truth they will always remain separate from you. In contrast, your experiences really are a part of you. We are the sum total of our experiences.

There’s no comparison We can’t compare experiences in the same way that we compare things. It’s hard to quantify the relative value of any two experiences, which makes them the more enjoyable.

Anticipation is exciting! Anticipation of an experience causes excitement and joy, whereas anticipation of obtaining a possession causes impatience. Experiences are enjoyable from the very first moments of planning, all the way through to the memories you cherish for a lifetime.

The power of experience trumps the fleeting pleasure of material possessions

Although experiences are fleeting, it’s a good thing. The very fact that experiences last for a short time is part of what makes us value them so highly, and that value only tends to increase with time

Life lessons Experiences are worth investing in because they teach you life lessons that you won’t acquire anywhere else. Travelling to new places teaches patience, acceptance, understanding. Experiences teach us humility, virtue and compassion.

Experiences are exciting and challenging Being inspired and overcoming adverse situations are keys to genuine contentment in life. You need to be motivated in order to reach your full potential. Experiences offer this platform to reach your maximum potential.

Experiences help you express gratitude Living with gratitude is the best way to live happily. There is a reason you feel fantastic when you go to a concert or the movies. You are grateful for these experiences because they are worth the admission fee.

Fill your life up with experiences. Many of them will cost you nothing. For complete satisfaction, link your experiences with your passions and purpose.