Experimenting with experiences

One of the many things I loved about our interview with Linzy Bonham was how beautifully she connected money to our self-care. It reminded me of the studies that have found we tend to experience more satisfaction and happiness when we spend our money on experiences (e.g., outdoor activities, tea lattes, entertainment, etc.) versus material items (e.g., clothing, jewelry, etc.).

Think about your own experiences with spending. Is the same true for you? Do you get more 'bang for your buck' when you spend it on experiences versus material goods? And what about if we take it even a step further—what kinds of experiences give you the biggest bang for your buck?

For me personally, experiences that engage me in play or creative pursuits definitely give me the biggest bang for my buck! And if you’re familiar with our 4 C’s approach to self-care, you’ll know that one of our C’s is Creativity, and we also include play in this category.

In the spirit of embracing Linzy’s messages about money self-care, the research on spending, and this important 'C' from our 4 C’s model, I fully embraced two experiences recently that checked off all these boxes: first, a sip-and-paint brunch (imagine a lovely old house, delicious bites, and watercolour painting in a garden), and then, ziplining (imagine soaring through the beautiful Pembina Valley in Manitoba).

And as it happened, these experiences also ended up checking off another one of our 4 C’s, Connection, as a dear friend was with me for both of these experiences (definitely an added bonus!).

So with summer now in full swing we’ve decided to designate August as “Experimenting with Experiences” month. It’s a great time to start experimenting and gathering the data to help you figure out which experiences give you the biggest bang for your buck. And remember, experiences don’t need to cost a lot in order for us to benefit. Sometimes all it takes is a tea latte.

Where will your experiments take you this month?