Investing on Experiences rather than Things

I have learned this quote from Jayson Lo’s book entitled, “Debtermined.”

He stated that it’s more important to invest on experiences than the material stuff here on earth, which is so true.

Anna Fegi-Brown of the Brown Academy of Music implied that, “No matter whether you passed or failed the audition, the important thing is that you have gained experience out of it. So keep trying and learn from your experience.” This is also so true. I can learn a lot from my experiences in the auditions to help me improve more.

Experiences can be more costly than material things. But the effect on a person will be memorable. It will not be taken away.

Let me share you some of my story on this one.

On the financial side, I wanted to learn about stocks and mutual funds. That includes insurances as well.

So, what I did, I self-studied. Learn from the books I read, search for stock brokers or fund managers and attend seminars about financial literacy and on how money works.

I have undergone a lot. I have learned a lot. I even endured losses a lot.

In terms of financial losses, I got bankrupt. I got scammed and continued this one for one whole year.

Yes. You’re surprised, right?

I played along with the scam and tried to see how long it will take me there. Unfortunately, my fuse blew up after a year and discontinued it. Making a lot of money loss including my entire savings and stuff.

But you know what, I’m glad I’ve experienced it.

Why? Because now I know the feeling of being bankrupt and how it impacts my life.

Same goes for insurances. I have applied several insurances and top it all off, I wasn’t able to continue a single one of them. This is due to my bankruptcy experience.  I even got scammed on insurances.

Those experiences led me to think more carefully on what insurances will I apply and how will I benefit from it.

I became more careful in terms of my finances. I became more aware of the pros and cons on stocks, mutual funds and insurances. I became wiser and picky in terms of getting money to grow better.

That’s what experiences taught me. 

Material things on the other hand, are forgettable. I am a bit obsessed with shoes, just a little bit. I like to buy casual shoes but I tried to limit the shoes I buy.

Whenever I buy one, I get happy and excited but just for a short-term. It won’t last forever.

Experiences are long-term memories while material stuffs are short-term memories.

In terms of travel, this is the best experience I will cherish forever.

Jayson Lo stated in his book “Debtermined,” that we should travel once a year. He said that travelling can give us new discoveries, new places to visit to and to learn from. He also stated that it can give us a new environment apart from the places we’ve been through every single day. 

Travel can give us a glimpse of nature and traditions we never experienced.

In other words, travel makes us experience other places, traditions and people we can apply when we go back home. And it can give us piece of mind to relax and enjoy the beauty of the places.

That’s why I LOVE travelling.

I’ve been travelling around the Philippines many times already. It’s fun and I enjoyed the experiences I have been through.

I’ve met new people. I’ve been to new places. I’ve eaten new delicacies and new cuisines. I’ve learned new traditions and cultures and a lot more.

Travelling is the best experience ever. It is costly but memorable.

Another experience I am currently investing on is my talents.

I love music and I love to sing. That’s why I enrolled to Brown Academy of Music to learn how to sing and even play instruments.

I just started my enrollment with the school January of this year. I continued until this very month.

First experience was very struggling. I struggle with my schedules and with my investment (I never made this one as an expense since I’ll be learning to enhance my talents) on the school.

Then, I continued until the very end of my lessons up to the Gig or concert. First try was nerve-wracking. But when I continued, it was fun! I enjoyed doing it.

I tried auditions in the school, but to no avail. My last audition was the best so far. Even though, I failed to be enlisted, I improved a lot! Tita Anna even applauded me for my improvements. My teacher even said to me that I should continue doing auditions. And I will do that next year.

This year was fun because of my experiences in the music school. The lessons are a bit expensive but worth it. 

What I have learned from the school is to garner more experience as I become an artist. I even got my songwriting talent from the workshops spearheaded by the school.

I have written several songs now and I will continue learning until I exceeding my expectations on my music career.

Those experiences alone are worth investing. It can never be replaced.

Now, experiences can also be from our failures.

The moment we failed, we tried to get better from it and learn.

Oftentimes, when we experience failures, we get doomed. We gave up. We surrender and move on to the next.

But some will try and try again until they succeed.

Experiencing failures can be a waste of money and time. But learning from those experiences can be worth it.

No matter how costly the seminars, the travel expenses and the learning are, these experiences will be worth it. It will be cherished forever.

So, whenever I planned to travel or learn new skill or continue to build up my talent, I will continue to invest on these even though they can be costly. But the experiences on these investments are worth it.

There will come a time that I might find difficulty in financing my investments. I know God will provide me with enough money to continue with those investments and build more experience.