I remember the tears streaming down my face as the anxiety rose within me at a pace far faster than it should for the average eight year old. I was standing in the aisle of Toys R' Us that displayed my newest favorite toy - Sweet Streets doll houses. This glorious invention from Fisher Price glamorized the dollhouse world with small sized houses customized with different business and homes such as a decked out mansion, a dog grooming center, and even a bake shop. You would purchase a set along with the big play mat that had specific spots for each house you purchased. And I wanted to fill that mat with Every. Single. House. The problem was each house was forty dollars and while I had saved well over eighty (thank you household chores) I did not want to spend my last penny to buy the last two houses; this left me with a choice to make.

I grew up as a savvy spender taking the time to contemplate every purchase I made with the money I would save from spare change and the monthly allowance I received for doing extra household chores. I was always looking to invest my money in the best ways possible and - I'll admit - I was basically a child version of the Mr. Krabs from Spongebob. As I got older I saved my money even more putting money into a savings account I opened as soon as I got my first job, and would stand in the store aisles forever thinking, Do I really need this?

Then college hit. I am still a savvy spender in many respects as I divy my paychecks up for gas, food, and a portion into savings just in case. While my spending habits may not have changed, the items I choose to buy are far different. I am buying experiences.

Concert and plane tickets. Half marathon races. Pole dancing lessons (insight on this adventure coming soon). Rather than investing in monetary items of another pair of shoes I don't really need, I decide to travel the world. I choose to feel the adrenaline rush that is plummeting from the sky like a pendulum on a ride at Kennywood and laugh about the sound of my scream across the park rather than investing in yet another tube of lipstick.

While we need those small monetary items to make us happy at times, I am choosing to invest in myself. Those items may feel completely satisfying at the moment, but they lose their flare after time. Experiences stay with us. They still can bring goosebumps to our arms and a smile to our face no matter how much time has passed.

Stuff we accumulate stays the same. Yes those sunglasses will still be red in a few years, but a weekly coffee date with a friend or a road trip each spring break are forever changing. Experiences are adventures we can share with one another which naturally increases our happiness far longer and greater than anything from Walmart.

In the end, I was able to actually purchase both Sweet Streets toys after we got to the counter and were told they were buy one get one fifty percent off. Several years later I look at them as they sit in a box collecting dust. I don't remember what games I played with the toys or who I played them with. What I do remember are all of the experiences I bought because those are the real investments I make for myself.

While my friends give me a hard time when I say, "Hey I'm going to Puerto Rico for spring break, Las Vegas in February, India and Thailand to study abroad, and Guatemala for a mission trip in 2017 while paying rent and my car loan," I don't have to worry about whether or not I should really buy it. I would spend my last dime seeing what this world can offer me instead of constantly waiting until I have just enough money. Money will continually come and go, but what we use it on is what matters the most.