The sneakers get scuffed. The road trip gets better every time you retell it.

Objects depreciate and experiences appreciate, which is the opposite of how most spending gets decided. A thing is at its best the day you get it and declines from there; a trip with people you like keeps being told, gets funnier, and becomes part of how you know each other. The money went to the same place and came back differently.

When you have some to spend and a choice between the two, lean toward the one that produces a story. Then make sure the story gets told. Retelling is not nostalgia, it is how an experience keeps paying.