Building experiences together is a hallmark of a great relationship. As much as I love to hang out at the house and relax, going out and creating experiences is vital to building a lifelong, weather-proof relationship. By keeping things exciting and a little spontaneous, it allows us to re-kindle that “puppy-love” that we all had early on. As human beings, we crave these social interactions and should not deprive ourselves of them. I understand that saving and investing are important to everyone and I appreciate that spending money can be tough however, investing in a relationship is just as important. Everything I suggest can be pared down or amplified up as much as your wallet can handle. The key element is that we understand that we need to invest in the relationship to get the best results. With that, let’s see what exciting experiences we can make for ourselves.
1 Random Fridays- As we get older, my wife and I spend most Friday nights hanging on the back patio, relaxing. However, about once a month we decide to do something spontaneous around the house. We are fortunate enough to have land so that we can create an internal camping trip or bonfire. Some other things that can be done are: cook a new dish together, watch a scary movie, watch a movie you both love, karaoke night, sports, and the list goes on. The important thing is that it is different from the typical workday. Make it fun and exciting. In the end, it is the effort that counts.
2 House party- When we were younger, we had some of the most amazing house parties in our city. In Arizona, we had a house on 3 acres of land. We had no neighbors. We would hosts tons of people. Currently, we try to host people every 3-4 months. We do not have as many people because we focus on quality, not quantity. Having parties unifies us around the house. We have to clean, cook, shop, review the budget, set up the atmosphere, etc.. Creating a great party takes work and it also helps us build our teamwork skills. Once the party is over, we are closer than ever.
3 Night on the town (with hotel)- This is one of my favorites. We do not go downtown too often nowadays, maybe once every 5-6 months. However, a good way to create memories is to not only go downtown but to also stay at a hotel downtown. This way we can pre-flight, dress up, enjoy the hotel, walk the city together, etc.. It is always a memorable experience. If we do not have the cash, we can always take an Uber and cancel the hotel. The most important idea is that we get out of the house, dress up, and relive our younger days.
4 Two-day trip- This is similar to the night on the town but is for locations a little further away. For example, in Arizona, our go-to spot was Laughlin, Nevada. It was about 4 hours from our home. By getting out of town, it allowed us time to shed some of the city stress. I honestly believe that the drive was my favorite part of the trip. Biloxi, Mississippi is currently one of our two-day trip destinations. These little trips are inexpensive yet very memorable. When we do these trips we make sure that we eat out at restaurants that we normally do not eat at. This allows the experience to be even more memorable. We get a lot of bang for our buck on these trips.
5 Big vacation- These trips will hurt your wallet. They are complex, time-consuming, and expensive. However, they are very important to the growth of a couple. Planning these vacations is similar to planning a military operation. Once the plan is solid, then comes time to follow it. Something will always go wrong but overall the plan is a success. Once we finish a trip like this, we are always closer than ever. Kris and I went to Turkey in 2019. It took us over 6 months to slowly plan this trip. We enjoyed our time and it was an amazing experience, one that I think about almost daily. In 2021, we plan to go back to Turkey, this time with both kids and my mom. It will be even more complex however it will be very rewarding. A strong relationship loves the challenge of creating these great experiences.
Experiences are what will keep a couple together for the long haul. But experiences do not just appear out of thin air, they have to be created. Being able to create experiences as a couple will ensure that the relationship stays young and fresh, even as the individuals get older. Experiences are the glue that keeps couples together forever.
Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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