Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 2: Today's tip is to consciously think of spending money on
Speaker 2: certain experiences as making investments and happy memories. It is
Speaker 2: not quite the same as investing money in the market,
Speaker 2: but in terms of living a satisfying life, it is
Speaker 2: not a bad idea either. So the title of today's
Speaker 2: episode comes from a wise grandfather I know of. When
Speaker 2: he gives cash gifts to the young people in his life,
Speaker 2: he tells them to invest this in your memory bank.
Speaker 2: I really like this idea. By now you have probably
Speaker 2: heard the advice that spending money on experiences tends to
Speaker 2: make people happier than spending money on things. There is
Speaker 2: a lot of gray area between the two. Of course,
Speaker 2: a car enables you to have various experiences, so does
Speaker 2: a tent. Correspondingly, a cheap pair of shoes might ruin
Speaker 2: an experience if you get a lot of blisters, so
Speaker 2: you would be happier paying up for the good ones.
Speaker 2: That said, the grandfather's advice gets at the connection between
Speaker 2: experiences and happiness. When you have a good experience, you
Speaker 2: create a memory, just as investments can grow in value
Speaker 2: over time. Your experience and the subsequent memory becomes more
Speaker 2: valuable as the days and years pass by. I have
Speaker 2: certainly seen this in my own life. When I was
Speaker 2: in college, I studied abroad in Australia and chose to
Speaker 2: spend money on traveling around that country, more money than
Speaker 2: I had ever spent on anything before. But those memories
Speaker 2: are completely irreplaceable. Now I have made more money, but
Speaker 2: with the busyness of life, I haven't been back to Australia.
Speaker 2: That was a good investment in my memory bank. When
Speaker 2: you have money that is not already designated for a
Speaker 2: necessity like rent, or groceries or retirement, consider whether you
Speaker 2: can invest the money in your memory bank. Is there
Speaker 2: an experience that you would enjoy while it lasts and
Speaker 2: enjoy looking back on. Maybe you've always wanted to take
Speaker 2: your kids to the Grand Canyon. A trip there will
Speaker 2: probably give you a lot more happiness than a new couch.
Speaker 2: You'll have fun while you're there and enjoy looking back
Speaker 2: on the memories. Or perhaps you're a foodie and you've
Speaker 2: been dying to go to a restaurant in your town
Speaker 2: that you keep hearing rave reviews about so try it.
Speaker 2: You'll enjoy savoring the meal and joining in the conversations
Speaker 2: with others who have dined there. Even smaller scale experiences
Speaker 2: can be good investments. The money I spent taking my
Speaker 2: kid's tulip picking at Holland Ridge Farms and eating at
Speaker 2: the lobster roll truck park there one Saturday has created
Speaker 2: lovely spring memories. Enjoy every time I look at those
Speaker 2: bright photos. When you give cash gifts, consider encouraging the
Speaker 2: recipients to spend the money to make memories. You could
Speaker 2: even write the advice invest this in your memory bank
Speaker 2: in your note accompanying the gift on the memo line
Speaker 2: of your check, or the what's this for field and venmo.
Speaker 2: If you give your kids an allowance, you could coach
Speaker 2: them on spending money on making memories. Many families have
Speaker 2: the norm of kids donating some of their allowance, saving
Speaker 2: some of it, and spending some of it. You could
Speaker 2: add an additional category for investing in your memory bank.
Speaker 2: You might not know what your kids will come up with,
Speaker 2: but the odds are good that it will yield some happiness.
Speaker 2: As with a financial investment, investments in our memory banks
Speaker 2: benefit us over time as the memories become part of
Speaker 2: our identities. As you plan out your spending for the
Speaker 2: rest of the year, maybe think of the discretionary categories
Speaker 2: with this in mind. Some money simply has to be
Speaker 2: spent on stuff that no one is excited about, but
Speaker 2: some can be spent on other things. And when you
Speaker 2: spend with the goal of adventure and memory, you are
Speaker 2: far less likely to wind out up with buyers remorse.
Speaker 2: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 2: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 2: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 2: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 2: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 2: That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod. You
Speaker 2: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts
Speaker 2: at iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 2: with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.
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