Memories Deliver the Highest ROI

This post is adapted from YNAB’s twice-monthly newsletter, Loose Change. 

Years ago, I was tasked with creating a concept for an adult summer camp. I called it “Camp Re: Play”—a nod to living life online, and an invitation to rewind to an earlier time of reckless, unplugged abandon. 

There’s a scene on repeat in my mind: a group of corporate warriors—once buttoned-up and briefcase-bound—now barefoot and wild-eyed, sprinting toward turquoise water. 

They were no longer adults bound by Zoom calls and Todoist tasks. They were kids at heart, waving paddles in the air, harmonizing off-key, belly-flopping into the water without a care for their hairdos. 

Camp Re: Play wasn’t just a retreat from the ol’ 9 to 5; it was a rebellion against the mundane. We sang around the fire, stuffing down s’mores as if calories didn’t count. We slipped onto the slide without cringing about potential back pain. We let go of expectations and the fear of judgment.

For a few glorious days, we lived like children again: unfettered, unburdened, undeniably joyful.

What I learned in that role is that many people are willing to spend a lot of money to break the shackles of adulthood. Memories deliver the highest ROI, after all. 

Yet, as we age, prioritizing making memories over money gets tricky. We get comfier in—or maybe just used to—the straitjacket of routine and the life jacket of security. And I know what you’re thinking: peacing out from life to attend adult summer camp may not be in the cards when you’re mid-life with mouths to feed and deliverables to, well, deliver. 

But investing in living more fully doesn’t have to be extravagant. You know, maybe it’s finally signing up for that pottery class to make lopsided mugs. Or taking a day off and splurging on artisanal pickles at the co-op.

There’s a critical difference between financial responsibility and financial restriction: one leaves room for joy. And every kid-at-heart needs that. 

Start a free trial of YNAB and discover what it feels like to leave room for joy when you spend!

YNAB IRL: Debt-free and doing the things we love

Dedicated YNABer, Sura-Quay, wrote to us with a wildly relatable journey of juggling multiple loans to finally finding financial clarity.

My husband and I found ourselves constantly struggling between unexpected expenses and lifestyle creep. We were in just under $500K of debt, including a mortgage of $300K, car loans, multiple credit cards (6?), miscellaneous loans, and so on. It just wasn’t sustainable from a financial perspective and a relationship perspective. We tried pen and paper systems, books, journals, spreadsheets, Mint, QB, and so on. Nothing stuck.
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While trying to understand how individuals deal with money and the challenges ADHD plays in that, I discovered YNAB. We also have a bit of a non-traditional setup with multiple households, due to my husband traveling for work. For me, with a finance background, YNAB is a delicious setup… Now, how my husband saw it? That was the test.
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We started at the beginning of April 2022, and within a month, we could see progress. It hasn’t miraculously solved all our financial issues (we still both have some issues with impulse buys and lifestyle creep), but we have no less than $25K in our bank account at any one time, and as my husband says, he doesn’t even check his bank account unless it’s to reconcile YNAB. 
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This past year has put us in the position of actually being able to be totally debt-free and retire comfortably while also doing the things we love in the meantime (travel). 
I also started my mom on YNAB too since I manage her finances, and it has been such a big help with her on a very limited income. While we get our situation improved, we are doing our best to involve our 8-year-old in our financial discussions (in simple terms, of course) so that she can structure her adult life debt-free, or if she has debt, it is very targeted and controlled versus her debt controlling her.

Our most proud accomplishment? We have not added a single dollar of consumer debt since we started YNAB, it is just mind blowing and makes us very proud.

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