Experiences over Material things.....

[ZZman]

Was reading an article that was saying Milennials care more about saving money for "experiences" like traveling to other countries than for material things, retirement etc.

Are you also about experiences or more about material things?

I will say I am more about material things only because I have never been good at saving and there is only so much money to go around. Spending 2,000-5,000 on vacations just isn't reasonable in our household. (Not that I wouldn't love to see the world)

 

[aquariuscsm]

Me,I'd say experiences. I love cheap weekend road trips!!

 

[E150GT]

Both. I love to travel. I love caring for my vehicles and house. Oh and my wife and kid too. I’m 34.
Just spent a week in Seattle last month. Just changed the oil and coolant and transmission fluid on my Buick today.

 

[Quattro Pete]

We try to balance things out... we love to travel, and don't mind spending good chunk of cash on it, but we are also putting money away for retirement.

 

[eljefino]

I like "stuff" but it can be well-used. In fact it's more insteresting that way. I don't need a many-hundreds i-phone when I milk a cheapo Android for all it can give me.

The cultch I drag home isn't a drain on the bank account, and occasionally even helps it.

 

[Andrew1972]

Experiences by a long shot. We drive cars into the ground + some and don’t over spend on our home. My kids have lots of used decent inexpensive sports equipment so we can spend money on ski trips, tennis, kayaking, skim boarding, surfing, hiking, cycling, backpacking and traveling.

We spent so little on used older quality bikes and a hitch rack but have gone hundreds of miles as family along all sorts of New England trails. We tend to use Vrbo and HomeAway and kids don’t eat out.

 

[splinter]

Both. It's about finding a good personal balance and enjoying the passage of time imho.

"What to leave in and what to leave out." -Bob Seger


neighbor: "Why don't you have a gardener like all the other families on this cul-de-sac?"
me: "Because I bought my new Porsche with the money I save."

 

[Fifth87]

I prefer material things, which to enjoy experiences. Such as a unique or just a car you can enjoy, whether it be junkyard trips for the elusive part, drives which you can photograph to recall the enjoyment which you got from it or just turning wrenches. Or a long road trip, for which I am long overdue.

 

[BretK]

I am not big into travel myself, so I would have to side with "stuff" Used is fine, in fact I have a lot more used than new.

 

[Oildudeny]

I have a 750 square foot cottage house, econo box car and a free cricket wireless phone state job and small investments I'm 31.

How I'm doing?

 

[Mr Nice]

Memorable experiences are much better.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Experiences. Not necessarily expensive (no cruises, or trips to Europe), but road trips, concerts, and the sometimes-odd things we both enjoy-offhand, my wife and I do road trips every year. Sometimes there's a specific purpose (ride the Dragon), sometimes a theme-this year was WW2 museums-we saw the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, the USS Alabama, the D-Day museum in New Orleans, and the USS Texas.

I have gone to a bunch of gaming conventions (my third GaryCon in March), she has gone to concerts (with friends), usually acts I don't like-notably, she had floor seats for Madonna's Rebel Heart tour.

 

[Kage860]

It seems like generally experiences provide more happines than material things. It doesnt have to be travelling necessarily, it could take the form of friends and hobbies. I try to not overspend on depreciating assets.

 

[Dyusik]

All of the crap I accumulate falls into two categories, the things I use to create experiences, and everything else my wife likes. That's why my ice ax is more valuable than my TV, and XJ>RX.

 

[Bud]

I always liked both. I am 70 now and look back on some of the things I have had, especially cars, and enjoy the memories. What has meant the most is time spent with family traveling all over the US. Now it's spending time with the grandsons.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Originally Posted By: E150GT
Both. I love to travel. I love caring for my vehicles and house. Oh and my wife and kid too. I’m 34.
Just spent a week in Seattle last month.


Just spent a year in Seattle last month you poor guy. LOL

 

[maxdustington]

There is definitely an agenda being pushed for millennials to not own property. I'm 29 and that has been my dream my entire life.

What's the point of going on vacations if you have no garage to wrench in?

 

[OVERKILL]

Most of my material things create little experiences, and these can tie into larger experiences, like travel. Driving out east, down through the states, up to the cottage. The drive is an experience, in a material thing that I spent a fair bit of cash on.

Sitting at home in my living room listening to my stereo, that's an experience, but it's one experienced through one of my material things.

So for me, it's a blend. You can have and do both.

 

[Donald]

I am definitely looking at everything I buy these days and say to myself, "do I really need it", "is there a place in the retirement home for this?".

I also if on the fence will fix rather than replace.

With a Subaru Forester, how materialistic can one be? (OK, maybe the F250 says the opposite).

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: maxdustington
There is definitely an agenda being pushed for millennials to not own property. I'm 29 and that has been my dream my entire life.

What's the point of going on vacations if you have no garage to wrench in?


I think the problem is that they don't have any money. I've been running into lots of millennials lately with crushing student loans. 80-160k or more. They're not making six figures so it's going to take a while for them to pay it off. Interest is a deadly two way sword. Works for you when you have it and money can compounds quickly. Works against you by taking that much longer to pay it off.

As for your dream, you only need 3.5% for a down payment these days. No need to save up to 10-20% although it helps with the payments (One theory is that by the time you save 10-20%, housing prices may have gone up 10-20% or more. But they may be flattening out in certain areas.). You should have strong finances though, saw lots of people get wiped out during the foreclosure crisis when they only had a 5% down payment.