If there is one thing the millennial generation is changing, it is the way they are spending their hard-earned dollars. For a change, many from this generation prefer to spend money on experiences rather than buying stuff. According to traditional theories, spending money on possessing desired things has the capability to make someone happy. But the research by Dr. Thomas Gilovich, a professor of psychology at the Cornell University showed that the opposite of this concept is true. It was observed that experience when purchased, not material things, showed more satisfaction in people.

Maybe that is why; not just millennials but many around the world are ditching materialistic possessions like expensive cars, gadgets, etc. Instead, they are investing in lifelong experiences like hiking, going on road trips, adventures, music concerts, live shows, or backpacking. Even the richest of them are ditching luxurious possessions to indulge in ineffable experiences.

Spend Money on Experiences – It Creates Stories

When we buy material things, we get excited only for a while. After some time, what really happens is that we get adapted to it. For example, when buying a new phone, you are excited before its delivery; you also get happy when it arrives. But what happens after a week or two? You get used to the device and you completely forget about your excitement levels while buying it.

On the contrary, the excitement of waiting for a trip, going to one, and coming back with lots and lots of stories is simply euphoric, isn’t it? It becomes a part of our lives, our story, and our identity. The tales we carry along with us even after the experience is over brings equals excitement levels each time. Gilovich aptly says that our experiences compared to our material goods are a bigger part of us.

Experiences Increase Bonds

For most of the times, when you spend money on experiences, it connects people, because they become a part of your story; even when they no longer stay a part of your life. You can forget the delivery boy who delivered the tangible possessions at your doorstep. But will you forget the person who helped you calm down during your nervous breakdown before the sky diving experience? Well, No, of course not!

Also, which is better? Collecting souvenirs from your favorite destination or going to that destination for real to experience it? Not just this, it is like a gateway to a whole new world of dimensions and perspectives awaiting you. A new phone or car will not change your thinking.

But meeting new people, hearing your favorite band live; going out of your comfort zone will change something within you. It can be anything, a perspective, a flow of gratitude, appreciation, anything. And when something changes for good, it is a lifelong change. Also, this is what you will remember when you sit to cherish old times from the book of adventures and experiences.

Memories are like a Box of Chocolates

When you spend money on experiences, you can collect these sweet moments forever in your memory box. It is like indulging in one like an elated kid whenever you crave to relive those moments. Well, you cannot do the same with material possessions.

At the end of the day, a walk down the memory lane with a gleam of joy in eyes is the most blissful thing you can ever experience.

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