Most of us want to have nice things. We spend a huge chunk of our hard-earned cash on expensive clothes, jewelry, and other luxury items. The question is, how much are all of these things really worth? Not in terms of money, it’s easy to put a price tag on your possessions, I mean their real-world value.
It feels good to buy things, but you’re guaranteed to be happier if you spend your money on experiences instead of possessions.
Things Lose Value, Experiences are Forever
Companies convince us that we should buy all the latest products. They make us believe that we’ll be happier because of it. In modern society, everyone wants to have the best things, but the best things are always changing. Every item loses its value and to keep up you need to keep buying more and more.
The only things that will always stay valuable are your experiences in life. What you’ve done, where you’ve been, who you met, and the connections that you’ve formed.
Don’t buy into the temporary happiness that is purchasing something that you don’t really need. Choose wisely what is really worth paying for.
See the World
Everyone dreams of seeing the world, but how many of us actually do it? Many people could easily afford to travel if they cut down their spending on unnecessary items. For example, the newest iPhone could set you back almost $1,500, whereas a flight from New York to Paris could cost between $200 – $900.
Travelling is invaluable to our personal growth. We learn about new ways of living and new ideas, all while creating wonderful memories. If you have any money to spare, spend it on a journey to somewhere new.
Even if you can’t afford to travel internationally, you can always visit a new town or city. That alone will be an amazing experience. You’ll get to see a new place and meet amazing people along the way.
Knowledge is Power
Books, online courses, lectures, talks, all are amazing ways to learn and grow. Sometimes it might cost quite a bit to learn all the things that you want to but doing so will help you to become a well-rounded person. Invest in yourself.
You are worth an education. The experience of learning something you didn’t know before, or expanding your knowledge in a certain area, is one of the most powerful things in life. There are online resources to be found that can suit any budget, no matter what you want to study.
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
“Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.”
—Paulo Coelho
What’s the purpose of doing the same things for the rest of your life? Try something new, eat a new food, try a new sport, go skydiving. Do anything that you can to remind yourself that you’re alive and that life is precious.
The more you move away from your comfort zone, the braver and more confident you will become in life. If that in itself isn’t worth paying for, then I don’t know what is.
What Will You Remember on Your Death Bed?
It’s uncomfortable to think about, but one day we will all pass on from this earth to whatever lies ahead. When your time comes, what will you remember? It won’t be the expensive car that you bought when you were 30, or the designer t-shirt that you wore with pride until it became “last season”. You’ll remember the experiences that you had in life.
We like to preach about “living our best lives” but we forget what that really means. It means leaving this world without regret for the things that you missed. It means not worrying about what new pair of shoes to buy, but instead spending that money on something that you’ll remember forever.
Forget what society is telling you, you don’t need to have all the latest products to feel happy in life. What you really need is to spend your time and money on things with real value. Real-life experiences are the only thing that will truly fill your life. If you choose what you purchase well, you’re guaranteed to be happier for it.
Share this article with the people in your life that you care about. We all need to learn to spend our money on the things that really matter in life.
