WEBVTT - Are Experiences Better Than Stuff? #167 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.680 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I and 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:06.240 Matt's and today we're asking the question our experiences better 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:27.960 than stuff? This is gonna be a great episode. I'm 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:29.320 gonna tell you that right now, this is gonna be 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:31.800 a good episode because for for us, I mean, this 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:33.599 is a question we ask ourselves, and I think this 0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:36.159 is a question that a lot of our peers, a 0:00:36.200 --> 0:00:39.080 lot of folks in our generation, that they're wondering. You know, 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:42.720 this is something we've heard, that experiences are better than stuff. 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:45.040 But this is something that we're going to dive into 0:00:45.080 --> 0:00:46.879 and hopefully we're gonna get to the bottom of it. Yeah, 0:00:46.960 --> 0:00:49.440 it's typically I feel like at this point it's stated 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:52.240 in fact, like the experiences are definitely better than stuff, 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:54.520 and there can be some truth to that, but we're 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:56.480 gonna dive a little bit deeper and kind of do 0:00:56.520 --> 0:00:58.760 an analysis because it is worth bringing up. And I 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:00.840 appreciate that you told everyone and that this is going 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:02.800 to be a good episode, because it will be. It 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:04.959 can be hit or missed right this show, So it's 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:07.120 good to be optimistic. And normally that's your role in 0:01:07.120 --> 0:01:09.600 our relationship that I'm sort of the Debbie downer type 0:01:09.640 --> 0:01:12.360 of person. But but yeah, regardless of which side of 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:14.400 the fence you land on, whether you do side and 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:17.240 maybe a little more with stuff, whether you appreciate experiences more, 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:19.320 we're gonna talk about ways to do those things correctly 0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:21.920 and as well as you know, we're gonna mention some 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:25.320 sort of filters to look at purchases through in order 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:27.520 for you to decide whether or not that that is 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:29.320 going to be a wise move for you to make. 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:31.240 So I'm excited to to talk about this with you, 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:33.119 my friend. Yeah, should be good, buddy. A Right Before 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:35.240 we get to that, though, I wanted to share a 0:01:35.280 --> 0:01:38.520 recent thing that happened in our household. And we had 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:41.360 a minor fender bender the other day in our brand 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:45.920 new to us but really old minivan. And so, how 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:48.240 old does that mini Vannigan is? It's sixteen? Yeah, it's 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:50.760 two thousand and six. No, so fourteen years sorry, fourteen 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:53.520 years old. So I just like saying that because it's 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:55.560 so freaking old, and I love it. Like I'm not 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:56.960 at all trying to hate on you. I think that 0:01:57.120 --> 0:01:59.280 it's the coolest thing that you guys are driving such 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:01.600 an old vehicle, because like we're going to discuss in 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:03.800 this episode. It shines a light on the things that 0:02:03.840 --> 0:02:06.040 you value and the things that you don't value quite 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:09.079 as much. Yeah, and sorry for the distraction, No, no worries, 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:11.040 and and so I think yet part of what also 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:12.600 it is nice about driving an older car is that 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:14.200 when you do get dings or dense it's just not 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:17.320 nearly Yeah, it's like, okay, cool, we get a scrape 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:19.480 down the side, but it's a five thousand dollar fourteen 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:22.200 year old cars. We don't really care that much. Well, minivan, 0:02:22.400 --> 0:02:24.799 but okay, and still still a bummer though. Yeah, how 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:26.839 long had had you guys had it? I think less 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:31.040 than a week. And so I'm not gonna name names 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:33.360 or anything, but one of the members of our family 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:37.200 was driving this we can drive, Yeah, who can drive? 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:40.400 There's only two of us who can And he or she, 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:44.800 who will remain unnamed, was driving this minivan and accidentally 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:48.680 scraped the side of a friend's car when he or 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:50.960 she was dropping off the children at a friend's house. 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:54.160 And so this, you know, not really a big deal. 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:57.120 Our friends were really cool about it. Obviously. We offered 0:02:57.120 --> 0:02:58.720 to pay for it to get fixed, and they took 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:00.679 it to a couple of auto shot and it was 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:03.240 a bummer because it's almost eight hundred bucks to to 0:03:03.320 --> 0:03:06.320 repair this car. We're not repairing our car because you know, 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:09.040 the scrape whatever who cares, but obviously paying to fix 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:11.519 our friends car and even just I wanted to talk 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:14.720 about minor fender bendor fixes and how you approach those. 0:03:15.080 --> 0:03:18.200 And I think most people instantly assume that they should 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:21.519 be making an insurance claim when almost anything happens to 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:23.880 their vehicle. Right, Folks are thinking, something happened, I want 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:25.799 to pay the hunter bucks and get it fixed, yeah, 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.840 or my deductibles five hundred. This thing cost a hundred bucks. Sweet, 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:31.600 I'm coming out three dollars ahead. But that's just not 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:33.640 the case. And so what we did was we paid 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:35.480 the bill and full and didn't involve insurance at all. 0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:37.440 And when you make an insurance claim, you're gonna be 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:41.880 paying increased rates typically for three years after after the fact. 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:44.480 And there's some insurers to do stuff like accident forgiveness, 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:47.480 but typically on the whole, you're gonna pay more for 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:50.360 your insurance premiums every single month for three years to 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:52.560 come by making that claim at least man. Yeah, and 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:54.840 it's gonna reflect poorly if you go shop around and 0:03:54.840 --> 0:03:56.560 try to go with another company. So these are the 0:03:56.600 --> 0:03:58.280 kind of things you want to take into consideration. And 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:00.120 one thing I think is really important to mention in 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:02.920 here is that if people haven't looked at their deductible 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:06.920 lately on their car insurance, they should strongly consider raising 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:10.040 that deductible because what it does is it lowers your premiums, 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:13.240 but it also makes you less likely to file a claim, 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:16.880 and the claims it's insurances is what you want when 0:04:16.880 --> 0:04:18.760 you absolutely need it. It's not something that you want 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:21.000 to use on a whim, yeah, exactly. And then you 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:22.680 do want to make sure you have enough money set 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:27.200 aside to cover that deductible completely for the situation to arise. Well, Joel, 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:29.479 you mentioned three years. Well, the reason I said, well 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:32.400 at least three years is because we were actually in 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:36.200 a very similar situation five years ago and that junk 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:38.800 is still on our record. Maybe it's just what our 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:41.120 insurance provider, you know, is as one of their things 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:42.840 that they hang on to the little thunder benders like 0:04:42.880 --> 0:04:45.760 that in the neighborhood for that long. But this was 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:49.320 an incident that required a little bit more money and 0:04:49.400 --> 0:04:50.919 at the time, we kind of had a lot going on. 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:53.400 We're flipping and selling a house, we're moving into another 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:55.440 home at the same time, and it was going to 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:57.680 be a more expensive fix as well. And so in 0:04:57.680 --> 0:04:58.960 that case, we thought, you know what, I think this 0:04:59.040 --> 0:05:01.080 is a time when when we are going to do insurance. 0:05:01.320 --> 0:05:04.080 But dude, in retrospect, I completely wish that we would 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:06.080 have just handled it ourselves, right, how do we not 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:09.520 involved insurance and paid person a person. We would have 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:12.040 come out ahead for sure. And so, yeah, if if 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:14.360 you're in a small incident like that, hopefully you can 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:17.040 be a little more cautious and be thoughtful as to 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:19.840 the implications that that one little incident is going to 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:22.760 have years down the road. Definitely three, maybe even five 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:25.240 if you're with my career, Yeah, five years. That's that's 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:28.200 even worse, right, You're you're paying increased premiums for that 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:30.280 long of a period, and depending on what insure you're 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:32.599 getting quotes from, they're seeing that on your clue report, 0:05:32.600 --> 0:05:34.920 which we've talked about on the show before. Spent a minute. Yeah, 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:37.760 but it's this essentially database for insurers to look at 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:40.200 and they see the claims that you filed so every 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:42.640 claim that you file, I mean, it just goes against you. 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:45.120 It hurts you when you're shopping your insurance around, which 0:05:45.160 --> 0:05:47.160 is something you should do, you know, on the rag 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:49.200 in order to save money. So, yeah, it was a 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:51.480 bummer to kind of have that scrape to our new minivan. 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:53.880 It was a bummer that that happened to our friends. 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:56.520 But ultimately, you know what, not that big of a 0:05:56.560 --> 0:05:59.039 deal when you can handle it yourself and leave insurance 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:01.839 out of the equations that you're not paying those increased 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:05.120 premium for years to come, that's where it really stinks. Yeah, man, 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:07.479 that is rights. So let's go ahead and introduce the 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:09.120 beer that we're gonna have on this episode. We are 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:12.400 drinking Divided Sky, which is an I p A from 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:16.440 Four Hands Brewery and uh listener Justin sent this one 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:18.520 to us, and he sent us a nice little note 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:20.680 here as well. He said he's learned from the podcast 0:06:20.760 --> 0:06:23.919 that on one hand, money is not a scary or 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:26.359 evil concept, and on the other hand, it's not the 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:29.880 ultimate aspiration either. It's simply a tool to help unlock 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:32.800 what you enjoy in life, such as freedom, convenience, adventure, 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:36.360 and security. Man, what a great way to to think 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:38.839 about money in the proper light, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah, 0:06:38.920 --> 0:06:40.960 I mean that's awesome. I mean I think that's exactly 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:43.920 what we hope people take away, right, We want them 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:46.200 to know because so many people think it money's evil, 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:49.200 money's terrible, or money scary, and yeah, it's not. It 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:51.080 is a tool to be used well. And on the 0:06:51.080 --> 0:06:53.200 other hand, man, it's also something to not seek after. 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:55.160 Like you said as well, that's a path that we 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:57.160 try to not go down when it comes to how 0:06:57.200 --> 0:06:59.279 we view money. It's important, but it's not something that 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:01.960 we need to, you know, seek with every fiber of 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:04.599 our being obsessed over for sure. We'll talk about this 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:06.120 beer and our thoughts on it at the end of 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:08.520 the show. Big thanks to Justin for sending in our way. 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:10.560 But Matt, let's get onto the subject at hand. And 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:13.160 today on the show, we're asking the question our experiences 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:15.640 better than stuff? And like you mentioned at the beginning 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:17.640 of the show, that's a common question right now, but 0:07:17.760 --> 0:07:20.520 typically people come down, at least now kind of on 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:24.200 the side of experiences. It seems like no dub experiences are, 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:26.440 of course better than stuff. And I think part of 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:30.320 that is this kind of backlash against the prior generation 0:07:30.440 --> 0:07:33.920 that did seem to kind of fuel this consumeristic mindset 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:36.960 and we live We're looking at you Gen xers. It's 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:40.080 all your fault, okay, Boomer. We live in this consumeristic 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:42.840 society and most of us we've grown up in this 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:46.320 culture that equates buying things with greater levels of happiness, 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:49.920 and that's kind of what we're reacting to. Studies show though, 0:07:50.040 --> 0:07:53.840 that our increased overall societal wealth has led to less 0:07:53.880 --> 0:07:58.920 happiness and greater psychological turmoil. But of the overall economy, 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:01.120 Matt is driven by consumer we're spending. So on the 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:04.600 flip side, younger Americans seem to value experiences more than stuff, 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:06.760 and I can understand why, but we have to ask 0:08:06.800 --> 0:08:08.840 the question, our experiences a better use of our money? 0:08:09.160 --> 0:08:11.600 What we definitely want to put our money towards things 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:14.120 that we actually value and avoid spending mindlessly. Right, That's 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:16.000 a huge part of what we talked about on the show. 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:19.480 But does that necessarily mean experiences provide a better return 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:22.120 than just buying stuff? And in this conversation, we also 0:08:22.200 --> 0:08:24.800 have to address kind of our quest for happiness overall? 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:27.440 Are we going to be able to find more happiness 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:31.240 through greater spending on cool experiences or through buying nicer stuff. 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:33.520 So we'll talk big picture, and we'll also get into 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:36.760 some practical ways that we can think through how we 0:08:36.800 --> 0:08:39.680 spend our money when we're talking about both of these things. Well, Man, 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:42.280 on the note of experiences, you and I were both 0:08:42.280 --> 0:08:45.600 fans of a great experience, right. I recently talked about 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:48.240 my desire to hit up a World Cup match on 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:52.360 the show World Cup is coming to North America. You 0:08:52.440 --> 0:08:55.880 gotta make it happy to be there. But experiences, though, 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:59.560 like they have trended in a consumeristic direction, and it 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:02.240 feels like that they're going down a similar path as 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:05.240 the stuff in our lives. It seems to me that 0:09:05.320 --> 0:09:10.120 folks are prioritizing travel and getting those likes on Instagram, Like, 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:12.960 is it really for the experience or are you just 0:09:13.000 --> 0:09:16.840 basically trying to signal status like we once did with stuff, 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:19.920 consistently buying new stuff that arise on your doorstep the 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:21.640 next day, Like, that's not a great way to build 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:23.719 your savings. Of course, but the way that we talk 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:27.000 about experiences has increasingly taken on some of the same 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:30.360 characteristics of what we disliked about how we bought things, 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:33.680 So should we value experiences more? Like? That's the question 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:35.520 that we need to ask ourselves. But part of the 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:38.720 difficulty in tackling this topic is that it's hard to 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:42.840 quantify an experience, Like how do you determine a proper value? 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:44.959 These are questions that each of us, like all of 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:47.959 us individually, that we'll need to ask ourselves as we 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:51.560 spend money on the different fund stuff in our lives. Yeah, man, 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:53.400 I definitely think there are some builders that can help 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:56.560 us think through how we buy experiences, how we purchase 0:09:56.600 --> 0:09:59.880 stuff that can have a major influence on kind of 0:09:59.880 --> 0:10:02.120 the benefit that we get from both. And so we'll 0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:03.640 get into some of those things in just a second, 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:06.120 but before we do, I wanted to ask you. We're 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:09.000 human as well, right, and we make we make mistakes. 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:12.560 Were not immune to the cause of like overspending and 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:16.280 mindlessly buying a thing or an experience. So what are 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:18.400 some of the ways that you're attempted to over consume? 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:20.920 And I won't just leave you out there hanging to dry, 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:24.160 I'll answer the questions. Yeah, So, like, what what is 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:26.160 it that you struggle with? What's a way that you're 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:31.320 tempted to kind of mindlessly purchase a stuff or an experience. Yeah, Like, well, 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:32.920 I feel like Kate and I we tend to be 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:35.559 like minimalists, right, Like there's not a ton of stuff 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:37.800 in our lives, but whatever it is that we do 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:39.480 spend money on, we tend to spend a lot of 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:41.720 money on it, right. And so the first thing that 0:10:41.760 --> 0:10:43.920 came to my mind is is our house. I mean, 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:46.600 we live in a pretty expensive home, and we recently 0:10:46.600 --> 0:10:48.640 finished our renovation to get it closer to how we 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:51.440 can envision ourselves being here, and so we've been really 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:54.679 mindful about it. But I guess what I'm realizing is 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:58.520 the more time that I spend thinking about something or 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:01.400 working on something, I think, the more I'm tempted to 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:04.480 spend in that direction, you know what I'm saying, Yeah, completely, 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:06.760 And so like it's almost it's less of a category 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:09.760 of items or a certain type of experience, you know, 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:11.880 Like broadly speaking, it's it's almost as if like the 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:14.840 more time and more proficient I become in a certain area, 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:18.000 and the more I get sort of sucked into that subculture, right, 0:11:18.080 --> 0:11:21.120 the subculture of home renovation. And there's no end to 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:23.000 what you could do. No. Yeah, it's that's why there 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:25.839 shows all over TV this house and I don't I 0:11:25.880 --> 0:11:29.800 haven't seen anything. There's like multiple channels dedicated home renovation 0:11:29.840 --> 0:11:31.480 if you have cable, And I know my my mom 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:33.880 is obsessed with Chip and Joyana and they're getting their 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:37.600 own network now, which is insane. There's already HDTV. There's 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:39.520 gonna be more. You know, there's a craze around it, 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:43.000 for sure. I know people make pilgrimages to where they're from. 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:46.080 My mom might have done it. I didn't know if 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:47.920 you're going to share that, but no, I don't remember 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:49.440 when when you shared that with me, I was like, 0:11:49.520 --> 0:11:53.080 no way, so into it. Literally, they stayed in one 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:54.920 of the houses that Chip and Joyana renovated, and I'm 0:11:54.920 --> 0:11:57.319 sure they loved it. They had the best time ever exactly. 0:11:57.520 --> 0:11:59.560 So in their case, that was an experience. But yeah, 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:01.400 and and I think, like, honestly, for them, it was 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:03.960 a really meaningful experience. Yes, yeah, But on that note, 0:12:03.960 --> 0:12:06.000 I think the same thing can be applied to anything. 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:09.560 I researched and basically armed myself with knowledge, right, and 0:12:09.559 --> 0:12:11.840 so I feel like I did something similar when it 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:14.040 came to cargo bikes. Like, I researched the heck out 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:16.240 of it and I just got really into it. And 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:18.920 so the more into something I get, because I have 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:22.000 that knowledge, I kind of released myself from responsibility a 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:24.880 little bit, and I tend to overspend, loosen the purse strings. 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:26.599 Because you felt like you knew more about it, I 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:28.840 feel more comfortable with it, and I therefore we'll spend 0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:31.120 more dollars, all right. So I think the way that 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:34.120 we let me hear it, I think the way that 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:38.200 we mess this up is we do prioritize a certain 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:41.000 amount of eating out, and I think when we do 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:44.280 it mindfully, it's really really good. Like in particular our 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:46.280 date nights. I like going out and get some cheap 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:48.600 tacos or some cheap barbecue or whatever, just as much 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.000 as the next person sounds good. But you know, we 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:53.720 also like going to a nicer place sometimes, and so 0:12:53.800 --> 0:12:57.960 we don't mind dropping that money on a decent meal out. 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:00.840 But I think the problem can be for us where 0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:02.640 we end up spending mindlessly is when we're just not 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:05.040 thoughtful about our food and we're last minute eating out. 0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:07.240 We're grabbing a pizza on a Friday night and dropping 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:10.360 twenty bucks because we just didn't think ahead about dinner 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:13.360 or we didn't plan our meals accordingly, and and that's 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:16.120 I have no problem spending money eating out when we're 0:13:16.120 --> 0:13:17.600 thoughtful about it, but I think when we do it 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:19.760 in that way, that's twenty bucks that I have a 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:21.840 hard time spending, and then it just feels like it 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:24.760 was wasted and feels a little more reactive than something 0:13:24.760 --> 0:13:27.320 that you set out to do. Yeah, exactly, because because 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:29.000 if it was Monday and you're looking ahead to the weekend, 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:30.760 you said, you know what, Friday, Friday night, it's gonna 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:32.319 be pizza night. We're gonna watch a movie. You know, 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:34.720 it's gonna be whatever pizza in the movie night. That's 0:13:34.720 --> 0:13:37.320 a whole different thing then last minute being like, oh, 0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:39.640 let's just grab a quick pizza, right, Yeah, I feel you. 0:13:39.720 --> 0:13:41.600 So yeah, that's at least one way in which I'm 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:44.280 tempted to overspend, and we do sometimes, and that's something 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:46.199 that we need to be more intentional about. But we're 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:49.280 talking about the difference between spending on experiences and stuff, 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:51.000 and there is I think a right way in a 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:54.079 wrong way to go about spending in both categories. And 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:55.800 let's kind of get into those filters that we need 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:58.400 to run through in order to make smart decisions when 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:00.120 we're buying either. And we'll get to that right up 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:11.520 to this break, all right, Joel, we're back from the break, 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:14.920 And it's good to mention too that we're not necessarily 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:19.119 in favor of experiences over stuff or stuff even over experiences. 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:21.680 I think there's ways though, that we can approach both 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:24.520 of those where we're kind of maximizing the enjoyment that 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:26.080 we get out of them, and a lot of times 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:28.400 that involves is spending less money. Yeah, I think of 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:31.360 it like a deadlocked arm wrestling match, right, experiences and 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:33.760 stuff going at it, but they're both equally strong, and 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:35.880 so neither of them them wins. I don't know, I 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:37.760 think that's a good way to think of it. Man, 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:39.160 you're just trying to find a way to throw an 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:41.480 arm wrestling analogy in there, because I know you love 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:44.000 arm wrestling specifically. I remember, like one of the first 0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:45.920 times we hung out, you kind of like challenged me 0:14:45.960 --> 0:14:47.800 to an arm wrestling match over a little argument with 0:14:47.840 --> 0:14:50.160 God that we were in over dinner, and you remember that. 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:52.000 I probably used to do that more when I was younger. 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:54.080 Pretty much anytime you're hanging out with you're like, hey, 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:56.600 you an arm wrestling and it's not because you're jacked 0:14:56.640 --> 0:14:58.920 or anything. I don't know really why you wanted darmst 0:14:58.960 --> 0:15:01.400 letter definitely not jacked. You're just looking to fight prove 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:04.240 our manhood, you know. Well here's the thing, though, when 0:15:04.280 --> 0:15:06.360 it comes to experiences, they don't have to actually cost 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:09.000 much or even any money at all. It could just 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:12.680 be a free arm wrestling match. It shouldn't be about 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:16.120 taking a vacation to Mashu Pichu and getting that photo 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:18.240 on top of that mountain, you know what I'm talking about. 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:19.800 I do want to go there, by the way, at 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:22.240 some point me too. For sure. It looks amazing. Yeah. 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:25.880 We're not anti Machu Picchu for sure. Yeah, and we 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:28.800 like vacations, but we want to make sure that we're 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:31.280 focusing as well on the day to day experiences, right 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:33.880 like getting coffee with an old friend or even just 0:15:33.960 --> 0:15:35.920 waking up early to work out. That doesn't have to 0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:38.200 cost you any money to go for a run, but 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:40.400 even two things like playing with your kids in the yard, 0:15:40.520 --> 0:15:42.160 right like, these are all things that you can do 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:45.640 for little to know money at all. And while we 0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:47.640 both like a nice trip or a nice vacation. Every 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:49.480 now and then, Man, we want to make sure that 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:52.640 we are pushing back against the mindset of vacation envy 0:15:52.920 --> 0:15:54.960 which can take hold of us, causing us to to 0:15:55.080 --> 0:15:58.440 seek those different experiences for fulfillment. Yeah. And I think 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:01.640 if we're trying to look through the lens of proper 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:05.280 filter for how we make decisions when we do decide 0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:08.360 to spend our money on an experience. One it is 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.800 looking at the free things in our life as beautiful experiences, 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:13.720 because there are so many things that if we were 0:16:13.720 --> 0:16:16.080 to view it properly and to think about it well, 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:18.640 we would notice that those experiences are rich and they're 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:20.840 meaningful and they didn't cost any money. And I think 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:23.960 the other thing too, when you're dropping money on an experience, 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:26.720 to make sure it has its full impact for you 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:29.880 and that it is truly meaningful and that you feel 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:32.760 like you've got your money's worth, The important thing to 0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:35.800 do is to soak it in. Oftentimes, so much of 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:38.360 the enjoyment that we received from any type of experience, 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:42.359 it's in the planning, in the anticipation of that experience, 0:16:42.520 --> 0:16:44.760 especially if it's a tripper event, right, if you've got 0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:48.080 concert tickets for a show that's in three months and 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:49.800 you buy them and you know you're going with a friend, 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:52.000 you have the joy of being able to talk about 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:54.280 it and get excited in the lead up to it. 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:55.960 And then it's making sure that you know all the 0:16:56.040 --> 0:16:58.280 lyrics to all the songs. Yeah, exactly, Yeah, you're playing 0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:01.080 that that CD on repeat because we still listen to CDs, right, 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:05.280 Amazon Music Dog. I think last year actually more records 0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:07.399 were sold than c d s, which is just funny. 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:10.480 Then records on the comeback. But yeah, and and same 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:13.080 thing with a trip, right, there's so much joy in 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:15.960 the anticipation of that trip, and especially if you're sharing 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:18.080 it with someone else, But so much of the joy 0:17:18.119 --> 0:17:19.800 that you get from an experiences in the lead up 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:23.199 and then when you're in the experience, well, bask in 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:25.600 the moment. This isn't the time to be checking your 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:27.840 work email or to be on Instagram and see what 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:29.639 others are up to, Matt, have you ever done that, 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:32.280 been on an awesome trip, flipped open Instagram at some 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:33.880 point and you're like, oh man, other people are doing 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:36.280 cool stuff. My trip doesn't seem nearly as cool. I 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:38.600 feel like that is totally something that happens in our culture. 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:40.959 It's something I've been susceptible to. I just don't want 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:42.280 to do that. I want to be in the moment 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:44.199 and I want to enjoy it to the fullest. And 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:45.960 I think there are simple traps that we can fall 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:48.359 into that can kind of cheapen our experience, and we 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:51.760 don't want to do that. We want to fully enjoy it, right, Yeah, man, absolutely, 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:53.399 because I mean just think about the memories that you're 0:17:53.400 --> 0:17:55.760