Stop Waiting, Say Yes Today!

We all know how teenagers are known to be spendthrifts. They spend money freely without any thought to tomorrow, but it was my daughter who put it into perspective for me this week. She asked about buying concert tickets for an artist she was dying to see. The tickets weren’t too ridiculously expensive but we were going to have to drive at least 8 hours to to the venue, which would mean I would be required to provide funds for the lodging and food. I told her we would discuss it later since she texted me about. That seems to be the first step for any activity where she’s unsure of my answer. We love going to concerts together; it began a few years ago and it’s something we do every summer in the place of an expensive family vacation, mostly since we both have busy work schedules.

The reason why I bring this topic up was that I didn’t want her to spend the money on the tickets, approximately $250 or so. Her response was that she wanted to have the experience. She didn’t see what difference the money would make if it was sitting in her account. If she had it and all of her bills were paid so why not use it to make memories? She said she liked being able to look back at the photos on her phone and see all of the experiences she had made with her friends and didn’t regret the funds it took to do those things. As she put it, there is always something to save for but how long are you going to save and are you ever really going to go on that big vacation or buy that first home or fancy car?

In most cases, life happens, and you never do, at least that’s what I have seen as a realtor. More people are waiting to invest in their first home than what I did when I bought my home at the age of 27. People don’t seem to do that anymore unless a relative gives them a great deal. Many times we make excuses about needing to save money and forsake the experience we could have had just to be safe. What does safe get us? Not a memory worth remembering, that’s for sure. On a recent podcast episode I listened to, a scientist had spoken with hundreds of older people varying in ages from 50 to over a hundred years old and the one common piece of advice they all gave was this: Make the memories with the ones you love. The  ritzy cars, the powerful job, the big house, none of that matters, but they regretted the time they lost making memories with the ones they cared about.

This is why I told my daughter she needed to buy the tickets and I would spring for the rest, no matter the cost. Maybe that makes me immature or reckless but making memories with my daughter before she begins her first year of college trumps saving that little bit of money. Besides, I’m of the mindset that I can always make more. You have to spend money to make money, and I would rather spend it with people I love cherishing the memories made than watching it accumulate in the bank. Call me whatever names you want. We are here to experience life and one can’t do that by sitting on the sidelines.

So let’s take a page out of the teenager’s book and say yes and spend the money to have the experience. Who knows, maybe you’ll get some great phone pics and amazing memories out of it too!