• “If you had to choose to buy the latest gadget or go volunteer to Nepal with your own money, which would you choose?”

Allocating money to buy the latest and most sophisticated electronics at first glance looks more tempting than spending money for an experience. It feels like a gadget with the most advanced features can complete your life while experience can wait.

In fact, if you want to look deeper, the happiness of ownership of goods is only temporary. Experience can actually give you knowledge that is useful for your life later.

• Still want to spend money on goods instead of buying more valuable experiences?

Buying goods and objects provides momentary pleasure. But experience makes you have a happiness that will always be remembered

When we decide to buy the luxury item we want, there will definitely be a sense of pride and joy that comes with the purchase of the item. As normal humans, it's natural for those of us who have worked hard to give ourselves a 'gift' by spending money on things we really want. However, the joy that comes with purchasing these items is only temporary. Maybe now you feel proud of the sophisticated smartphone in your hands.

But when there are people or maybe there is a new series of cellphones that are even more great, that sense of pleasure and pride will fade. The opposite actually happens when you choose to spend your money going to new and exotic places. The memories and sensations that remain after you return from there will not be forgotten and replaced by anything. You will always be able to remember the fun even though you have visited several years ago. Yes, even though it's invisible, the pleasure and happiness that you get when you buy an experience will never be replaced with anything.

Experience makes you more aware of yourself and your potential

Without you realizing it, an experience will teach you many things, including the art of knowing yourself. Through experience you can know what you like and don't like. For example, if all this time you think that you are a person who has a strong passion to become a musician. Try going to various music concerts, volunteering in them, or maybe joining children's music classes.

From there, you will be able to recognize in more detail about the real life of music. To be able to experience these experiences, you may spend a lot of money, energy, and time. But the various experiences and lessons you get afterwards will clearly introduce yourself to the real world of music. After you are forged with these various experiences, you may want to be more involved in the world of music or quite the opposite.

With the various experiences you have, the problem will be viewed from a different way

One way that you can try to have a rich perspective is to travel to various places. Going to a new place will expose you to a different culture, customs, and perspective than what you are used to on a daily basis. Dealing with these differences will indirectly affect the way you think.

Meetings with various people you meet at the place of your travels will also broaden your horizons about how you view the world. Small chats between you, for example, are knowledge that cannot be obtained in college. These experiences will not be obtained for free, but believe me that what you get afterwards will be worth it.

Experience teaches you life lessons in a more fun way

Experience will teach you much more than you can in the classroom. If you want to understand the meaning of simplicity, try to look at the life of the Baduy people who have not been touched by modernization. Want to know how students study in developed countries? Join the various student exchange programs that are now available.

Meanwhile, if you want to be more grateful, take part in social service actions at the orphanage where you can meet children whose fate is not as lucky as yours. These activities do not always feel interesting to do. But if you want to follow it, there are many life lessons that you can learn there.

Through experience you can find happiness in a simple way

If all this time you have always thought that to achieve happiness it takes a lot of money, this is not the case for those who seek happiness through experience. For climbers, happiness is not driving a luxury car. Lovers of heights will find happiness when they successfully climb mountains and reach the highest peaks. Without spending too much money, they can find their own pleasure.

The various happiness that you get through experience can still be obtained in a simple way. Seeing the sun setting on the beach, seeing the smiles on the faces of street children you help, or just looking at the twinkling city lights from a height are examples of fun that you can get through experiences that don't need to be obtained by spending a lot of money.

Using the money you have for certain experiences may not be as exciting as buying things like the latest cell phones, luxury homes, or branded clothes. But believe me as expensive and as good as any object you have it will never be the same when you choose to exchange your money for an experience that you will never forget for a lifetime.