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et’s unpack the myth that our 20s should be spent acquiring various things. This decade of our lives is for exploring, taking chances, and trying new things. We do this by prioritizing experiences over things in our 20s. This mindset is easy to adopt, and it has the power to change your life in ways material things never could.
Think of Your 20s as an Airport
There is no unanimous path to navigating your 20s, because this is the time in our lives when everyone seems to be moving in different directions. At Baggage, we like to think of our twenties as an airport: everyone is going someplace different. Sure, a few of us are headed to the same geographical destination. Maybe everyone at your gate is traveling to New York, or Seattle, but once you arrive, all passengers deplane, and go their separate ways.
In your 20s, you might be on the same plane as others, you might even be headed to the same destination, but your life, like your travel plan, still looks drastically different from theirs.
While the jobs we have, the places we move, the company we keep, and the relationships we enter into and out of, will all change in our 20s – there is one philosophy that each of us can and should hold true to. Prioritizing experiences over things.
The First Phase of Your 20s
Whether you go to college or not, most of us spend the first portion of our twenties with very little. We live in small spaces, be it dorms, shared apartments, or our childhood bedrooms. Everyone budgets for groceries, eats out at restaurants that offer weekly discounts (hello Taco Tuesday), and shops allll the sale sections. Most twenty-somethings learn to live with little, and yet we have some of the very best times of our lives.
Many people move to new places, meet people who quickly become close friends, acquire internships, and explore job possibilities. This is the first phase of your twenties.
For us, we started traveling in our early twenties anywhere we could afford to go with whatever time we had. This helped us make friends in different parts of the world and embrace experiences that ultimately expanded our idea of what could be possible for our careers and post-grad lives.
Seville, Spain
Royal Alcázar of Seville
Royal Alcázar of Seville
The Second Phase of Your 20s
The second phase of your 20s often begins when you start making more money – for some, this happens quickly after graduating from college and accepting full-time jobs. For others, it’s after starting a successful business or becoming more skilled in a trade. But with all this newfound money comes an increased pressure to spend, a desire to acquire. While we’ve all learned to live with very little, many people start to embrace a new kind of lifestyle, indulging in purchases that they couldn’t previously afford. As we grow into consumers who can afford to make choices with our money, it’s essential that we understand the power we hold.
You’ve already learned to live with very little. So, why not try to develop this mindset even as your income increases, buying only what you really need and truly love? (Bonus points if you find ethical businesses whose values align with your own). With your extra money, you can focus on seeking out experiences that will undoubtedly do more for you than material things ever could.
Maddie on her gap semester in Andros, Bahamas
Choose Wisely
As soon as you begin to make enough money to enjoy a certain quality of life, you have a decision to make, whether you realize it or not. You can choose to partake in a lifestyle oriented around things; clothes, cars, new technology, homes. In reality, the list of things is never ending and always evolving.
At Baggage, we’re guilty of booking a flight just to feel something. But we’re not big on retail therapy. Industries like fashion and tech are designed to convince consumers that they always need something. Ultimately, these industries and their marketing tactics are a large part of the reason that consumption is at an all time high, and our planet is suffering under the weight of overproduction.
We are tearing down our rainforests, destroying our natural environments, and subjecting populations to unfair labor practices. All of this to create material goods for westernized economies that don’t need any of these things.
Again, in today’s economy, there will always be a next best thing – until everyday people, like us, decide we don’t need whatever it is. As the next generation comes into purchasing power, it’s up to us to push back against the industries designed to convince us that our value lies in our material possessions.
The Only Things You Really Need
- Yourself
- Love (and this can come in many forms)
- New places to explore
- New opportunities to grow
- Good company
- Great Food
You Are Your Experiences
The experiences you’ve had in your life say a whole lot more about you than your possessions do. It’s your experiences that shape you, grow you, and define you. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. When you think about the things that add the most value to your life, it’s unlikely that the answer relates to the clothes you wear or the car you drive. For those of us in our twenties, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing these things are important when we’ve been conditioned to see value in them. In truth, purchasing a very expensive car or a 10th pair of shoes will make you feel good – for a moment. But that feeling doesn’t last.
Expand Your Horizons – Literally
Equally important, our experiences teach us valuable lessons. You have to work for an experience. If you plan a trip abroad, you prove to yourself that you can navigate new places and interact with diverse groups of people. These skills will lend well to any professional role, and enhance your personal life.
Maybe you pursue a hobby and get scuba certified – inevitably expanding your understanding of marine life and exploring an entirely new facet of our planet: the underwater world. Alternatively, you could try hiking, and find yourself beginning to appreciate nature in new ways. You might be surprised to discover that you feel more alive outside, and to realize that your energy increases when you move first thing in the morning.
Today, you can literally go online and book a random flight for the same price as a pair of high-end leggings. The entire world lies in front of you. If you recognize the significance of the choices you make, the possibilities expand in front of your eyes.
Florence, Italy
Traveling to Italy together
Pisa, Italy
Honesty Is The Best Policy
Be honest with yourself and take time to evaluate what’s most important to you before you start the cycle of leases, mortgages, credit card payments, and miscellaneous bills. There will be some things that you can’t compromise on, and some things you just truly want. But if you adopt an experiences over things mindset, you’ll think twice before dropping hundreds of dollars online shopping. Maybe you’ll use that money to book a girls trip with friends instead, and plan the perfect itinerary that leads to a weekend you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
How To Shift Your Mindset
How do you shift your mindset to prioritize experiences over things ? First, start thinking of your 20s as the time to go after what you want most. Does it scare you? Go for it. Never done it before? Try it. Take big risks – don’t be afraid to be wrong, to make a mistake, to fail at something. Okay, we know we’re getting a bit cliche here, and you’ve probably heard this all before. But truly, the world is your oyster. It’s yours to explore.
At Baggage, our goal is to spend our twenties falling in love with the world. In our experience, we’ve found that we also fall in love with ourselves, and the people we meet, just as much as the places we see.
If your 20s is the airport, then you can go anywhere. And when you get there, you can do anything.
You Should Just Go For It
Ready to start prioritizing experiences over things? Once you shift your mindset, it’s relatively easy to begin practicing this way of life. Our generation has tools and opportunities at our disposal that no prior generation had – and we should take full advantage.
When it comes to travel, gap years and study abroad opportunities are becoming increasingly common. Remote jobs are making it possible for twenty-somethings (like us!) to work from anywhere in the world. Plus, companies like Airbnb and Uber make it easier to afford travel. In addition, modern business models like these demonstrate that we can share property and modes of transportation, rather than own everything ourselves.
Our Best Tips To Jumpstart Experiential Living
- Use YouTube to learn new skills
- Find a way to document your experiences (a website, a resume, on your socials, LinkedIn – so that you can showcase yourself to potential employers)
- Cut back on shopping
- Sell and donate some of your possessions
- Minimize your expenses however you can (avoid large car and rent payments that cost you financial freedom)
- Be intentional with who you follow on social media – only follow those who inspire you
- Be careful what you consume – social media can make it look like someone else is always having a better experience than you.
- Take a trip to somewhere where people live with little to understand how much you truly have
- Find free ways to explore: think outdoor adventures like hiking, swimming, seeing new landscapes
- Find ways to free up your time – experiences require time more than money
Now is the Time
For two years, we all struggled to travel and enjoy many experiences that we had previously taken for granted. Seemingly overnight, we lost the ability to attend events, eat out at restaurants, enjoy group gatherings with friends, attend classes, etc. For us, the pandemic put things in perspective, showing us just how much we value our experiences in life. Our urge to travel, to experience the world, has never been stronger. As we emerge from a global pandemic, we all have the chance to create a new vision for our lives, or reaffirm the beliefs we already held.
The experience economy is on the rise. As a result, opportunities to travel are expanding. At Baggage, our goal is to help people see that they can have a significant relationship with travel. If you prioritize experiences over things in your 20s, you’ll find yourself falling in love with new places, new people, and this planet.
Change the way you see the world and you change your life.
A List of Experiences
- Take a Girls Trip with your best friends
- Spend the summer after you graduate from college in Europe
- Plan a spontaneous trip by purchasing cheap flights to somewhere new
- Live and work in a resort town during the busy season
- Challenge yourself to take a trip for less than $500
- Rent a sleep-in van and tour the U.S. National parks
- Explore your own state: start taking day trips to places you’ve never been
- Take an off-season trip to Spain’s Andalusia region
- Spend months exploring Bali on a Budget
- Become scuba certified
- Learn to surf
If you’re looking to fall more in love with travel, our other posts are a great place to start.
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