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