Lizzy and Lissa break down the hidden costs – financial and otherwise – of souvenirs. In this episode, we’re talking about why we buy them, what they symbolize, and whether they’re actually worth the money or just clutter. Join us as we reflect on nostalgia, impulse purchases, and the surprising psychology behind keepsakes.
Lizzy and Lissa break down the hidden costs – financial and otherwise – of souvenirs. In this episode, we’re talking about why we buy them, what they symbolize, and whether they’re actually worth the money or just clutter. Join us as we reflect on nostalgia, impulse purchases, and the surprising psychology behind keepsakes.
Main Topics
00:00 Introduction
01:04 Running The Numbers Segment
02:16 Personal Stories and Souvenir Experiences
02:56 Intentions Behind Gift Giving
10:45 Historical Context of Souvenirs
12:30 Personal Souvenir Preferences
18:34 Space Considerations
22:25 Cultural Appropriation Concerns
23:56 Cherishing Travel Memories
27:27 Supporting Local Economies
29:50 20 Cents Segment
References for Statistics
https://www.ibisworld.com/classifications/us-sic/5947/gift-novelty-and-souvenir-shops/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://today.yougov.com/travel/articles/21197-more-women-men-purchase-souvenirs-friends-family-a
https://www.souvenirproject.org/history/origins-of-souvenir/
https://emint.com/blog/a-modern-history-of-souvenirs-and-keepsakes/
Lissa: Souvenirs. They are everywhere you go, from magnets to mugs to artisan crafts. But are they meaningful mementos or just unnecessary clutter? Today, we are discussing are souvenirs worth it?
Lizzy: Let's talk about it.
Lissa: Welcome to Net Net with Lizzy and Lissa, where we analyze hidden costs and empower you to make your own damn decisions in life. Each episode covers a different facet of life, and at the end of each episode, we each give our takes on whether we think something is net positive or net negative.
Lizzy: I'm Lizzy, a strategist and consultant with almost 20 years of experience in finance and investing.
Lissa: And I'm Lissa, a personal finance expert and a certified financial planner. We're best friends who talk about money...
Lizzy: ... and everything else.
Lissa: Are souvenirs worth it?
Lizzy: First up, running the numbers on souvenirs.
Lissa: IBISWorld figures say that the US gift shop and souvenir sector will reach about 24 billion in revenue this year. This includes gift card and novelty shops.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: As far as individual's pockets are concerned, YouGov Omnibus says that two in three Americans, or 65% of Americans, bring back souvenirs whenever they travel.
Lissa: Yeesh. YouGov's new poll shows that Americans are most likely to gift souvenirs to family members at 44%, though many also cite that they would buy a souvenir for themselves or friends as well. Few people purchase souvenirs for their co-workers.
Lizzy: Interesting.
Lissa: But 6% of people do.
Lizzy: Okay. I've definitely gotten some from co-workers.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: Research also shows that women, 68% are more likely than men, 62%, to say they buy souvenirs for those in their lives.
Lissa: I'm not surprised.
Lizzy: Yeah, that tracks.
Lissa: Yeah. Well, we all know there's more to life than numbers and statistics, so let's talk about it. Are souvenirs worth it? This is a fun episode, because I don't know what episode it was in the past, but we've talked about how I'm like a gift giver. And so for many years of my life, no matter where I traveled to, I'm bringing back souvenirs, not just for one friend or two friends, for-
Lizzy: All the friends.
Lissa: Everyone I know.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Yeah. Yeah.
Lizzy: So talk about that. Where does that mindset come from and what are the intentions? For you, what did it mean?
Lissa: I think it's a mix of things. One, if you're new to the show, I've always been a gift giver. I think I learned that early on in life. I kind of associate it with a way of giving love. It's one of my love languages. So to me, both giving and receiving is a way of showing love, getting gifts or giving gifts. I'm a big gift giver, big gift budget every year. So I think that's one part of it.
I think another part of it, especially when I was younger, is that I never traveled a lot. We did a few Disneyland trips when I was a kid, but we never really went out of state much or let alone out of the country. And so usually for people, if you don't come from money, I think that your journey into exploration, like traveling more places, traveling the world, it's usually slow. You save money to take a trip, you're not going that often. And so-
Lizzy: They're incrementally more meaningful.
Lissa: Yeah, they're very meaningful. And when you explore a new place, a new culture, a new city, new state, new country, it's meaningful and you want to bring back a piece of that with you. So that's the nice fuzzy version for me of what souvenirs mean.
Over the years, it's kind of evolved because I started realizing that I was buying people souvenirs that they don't want. They're just going to throw away. They didn't go to Cabo. Why do they want... If they put a Cabo magnet on their fridge, people are going to ask them about Cabo and they're going to be like, "Well, I've never been." I'm just making that up. But it's that kind of thing where now I'm a lot more intentional. I still buy things here and there, but I don't have the same relationship with it as I used to.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: What about you?
Lizzy: Okay, so souvenir-wise, it's funny. It makes me think, I grew up in a family that traveled very little. I do remember one time my mom went to Hershey, Pennsylvania, I think with family or something, and brought back probably just chocolate, but it stood out to me and it was like, oh, she went there and it was such a cool thing. It's funny, just my perspective now, that's not necessarily some spectacular destination in my opinion as an adult, but as a kid, it was really magical. So this-
Lissa: I think it's cool still, as an adult.
Lizzy: Oh, yeah. Cool, yeah.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: So not that it's not cool, it's just probably isn't high on my list, I'll say.
Lissa: Yeah. Yeah.
Lizzy: So there was some meaning there and there was something magical about that, and it kind of represented possibility, I think. And I recognize when I'll bring something for my nieces and nephews, I want to put that meaning into it, like there's a big world out there for you. Look at the cool things that you can do. There's so much to explore and create that sense of possibility for them.
Lissa: That's interesting. I never thought of it like that.
Lizzy: Me either, until just now. But yeah, that's part of it For me. When I did start to travel, my first real big thing was I moved to Barcelona. And when I came home for Christmas, I definitely brought stuff back. But the thing for me is I get really overwhelmed when giving people gifts, because I want to give them something that's thoughtful or meaningful. I feel like I can't just give them something that... So I overthink so much. I spend a lot of time and I don't buy stuff, and it actually just creates a lot of stress for me.
I still do it sometimes, but when I really started to travel on my own, I wasn't in the habit of it. I think actually through being the recipient of things from you and appreciating the thought, that's when I've started to. However, sometimes it does feel for me like, oh, I'm supposed to do this, but what do they want and how much and do they care? And it's kind of this weird gray area, like, does anyone really want this or not? I don't know.
Lissa: And that's kind of what I meant by, like, now I'm more intentional about it. I've shifted the types of things I get and who I get them for. So over the years, my mom started to become a collector of Starbucks mugs from different places. I think I talked about that in the collectibles episode, maybe. And also when I started traveling more, I started getting her magnets from places I've been. So even though she's never been, she loves having a bunch of... Well, I think she loves. She's never really said that she hasn't loved it, but she's loved having magnets from different countries that her kids have gone to and it's... Yeah.
Lizzy: Which is interesting, that is in some way representative of her success-
Lissa: Yeah, through us.
Lizzy: ... through you guys, right?
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: Of the lives she's enabled you guys to have.
Lissa: Yeah, to explore world.
Lizzy: Yeah, which is amazing.
Lissa: To explore new places. So that will be the core types of things that I'll get my mom if I travel somewhere new that she doesn't have something from there yet.
There are now things like... so my husband, Allan, he loves trying new alcohol whiskies, things like that from places. So if I go somewhere where they're known for a specific kind of liquor, I'll get a bottle of it so that he can try it. So less of a souvenir in terms of a tchotchke that you would keep. It's that you drink it and then you throw it away, but you get to experience something.
Lizzy: I'm more inclined to do something like that, because to me, it feels like you're bringing a little bit of it home to them. So when we went to the UK for your bachelorette party, I brought back shortbread and some chocolates that they don't have in the US or they're hard to find here and things like that. And I think even when I went to Paris, I got french... I got a little thing of mini jams and they're like syrups that you add to drinks, and I made little goodie bags for people. Because I feel like it's not going to hang around. It's a little more practical, I guess, and you get to experience part of it.
Lissa: One of the things think is funny is that in the past I've definitely gone places, bought something there, and then I came back home and I'm like, "Oh, they sell that here."
Lizzy: I've definitely done that too. And sometimes they do that, or you buy something there and it's like no one there that really lives there actually does that or uses those things. It's very commercialized.
Lissa: Yeah. So I was going to get into that too. I was doing some research on this show and realized that, well, not realize, I know this, but I didn't know how bad it was. But if you travel to many tourist destinations, there are local vendors who handcraft things, but a lot of times they're hand crafting it for the purpose of getting tourists to buy it. But it's still nice. It's made from someone from somewhere else.
Lizzy: Yeah, representative of a technique or the style. Yeah.
Lissa: Yeah. It's a style that's very different from what you get at home. But there's also, and you've probably noticed this if you've traveled anywhere, huge industry where all you're getting is something that's printed in another country that says the name of the place that you're at. And it's like, how special is that souvenir at that point? It still can be. It still can hold meaning. You go back to where you live and you're rocking a shirt that says, "Oh, I visited Portugal." Right? That's still cool, but what if the Portugal shirt was made in China? So I think at the end of the day, when you're giving any kind of gift, whether it's a souvenir from travel or just a regular gift, a lot of it comes from the meaning behind it, more so than the object itself sometimes.
Lizzy: Absolutely. Completely agree. That actually makes me think we did a little research around the origin.
Lissa: Oh yeah, the history.
Lizzy: Yeah, the history of souvenirs. So the word itself first appeared in Old English around the year 1100, and it was used to mean something in one's memory, or to recall, to commit to memory. And then it first started to change its use to be used as something that serves as a reminder or memento in 1676. But an interesting part of the history is that, kind of like you said, for thousands of years, the only people who could travel for pleasure were the incredibly wealthy. If you think about taking a ship or the lengths that you had to go to, the months that it took. So souvenirs or luggage or these things that have a retro feel were symbols of wealth. So they had all these other connotations.
And it wasn't until after World War Two when globalization really shifted because of the war itself, and people started to travel more, and then also through technology, travel was much more accessible, and mass production was much more accessible, and that's kind of when this took off as its own industry. So aligned with the shift in people and the availability of having these experiences, and then of course, an industry popped up right around it. And so that raises a point of if you're in a souvenir shop, is this any different than something you get on Amazon, and is that the point?
Lissa: Or does it matter?
Lizzy: Does it matter?
Lissa: Maybe it is the same that you can get somewhere else, but the fact is that you know that you got it there.
Lizzy: Yeah, exactly.
Okay. What is your take on souvenirs for yourself?
Lissa: Oh yeah. I've gone through all sorts of phases where I get nothing for myself or I want to bring everything back with me because I just do. I think at the point where I am now, if I were to get a souvenir for myself, my new thing is something with utility that I can use that's representative of the culture there. So something I've been trying to do every place I go is to buy fun pants.
Lizzy: Oh, I like that.
Lissa: Yeah. I mean, I'm not wearing them now. I should have worn them. But pants from a local market, local vendor that has a print that's very much representative of the area. I'm not sure where they get made, if they're actually handmade there or if made somewhere else. But I feel like I'm supporting a local vendor, like a market, and I get some pants that I get to wear. Then I'll look to other things that are usable and cool, like this is a fan that I got in Kampala, Uganda, and I use it all the time. I get hot all the time when I film, and I like the design. It's very beautiful.
Lizzy: That's really cool.
Lissa: Yeah. And so there's things like this that I'll get for myself when I travel, if I see something cool. There's many places I've been that I don't have anything from. One other thing too that I... I don't know what I'm going to do with this. I decided that Allan and I were going to collect coasters and playing cards wherever we went together. So that's another collection. But again, they're just sitting there. I don't know what I'm going to do with them. So that's why I kind of, like, I've shifted more to the things with utility.
Lizzy: Utility. Yeah. I am similar. I think a lot of this overlaps with our collectibles episode. Check that out. So I started collecting perfumes from destinations that I visit, ideally like a local brand or something that I can't get elsewhere, because every time I use it, the scent reminds me of that experience, and it's created... I think I have 20 of them now. I don't always get one. I'm not always able to find it, but I definitely try. And so that's something I really cherish, and they last a long time, and they're scarce in the sense of I may never go back to that place. So I use them sparingly.
I do like functional items. So I think you brought me a pouch, a bag one time, and I really use things like that. So I appreciate that. I also have actually right over there a tote bag that I got in Paris. And so when you're talking about souvenirs that say something on them, it made me think, this one is from a pretty famous bookstore called Shakespeare and Company, and that's what it says on it. And for me, I can be sometimes judgmental of people that wear Palm Springs or whatever, even though I do have a couple of those things.
Lissa: Yeah. I love a good location shirt.
Lizzy: Sometimes it depends on what it is. I'm selectively elitist about that. But I do like something if it reminds you of that specific experience or it's representative of something meaningful to you. For me, this communicates to the world. I love books. I love niche bookstores and history, and... I don't know. Everything is communicating about ourselves.
So yeah, I definitely try to get a souvenir or two for myself, particularly if it's a place that has some meaning. Maybe not if it's a total relaxation vacation. I think if I've gone to Mexico to go to a resort, I don't know that I've gotten one. So it kind of varies, I guess.
Lissa: So, obviously, one cost of souvenirs is the actual financial cost of buying them. And like I said, you can go to local markets and get something small for yourself, and it's not going to cost a lot. But before, when I used to buy everyone a souvenir-
Lizzy: It can be a lot.
Lissa: I was spending a lot of money.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Because for me, and I've mentioned this in other episodes, I think. I have five siblings, one that I'm closer to in age, and we grew up together. I still love all my siblings.
Lizzy: Of course, yeah.
Lissa: But I'm closer with the girls over the brother, the sisters over the brothers a little bit. And so then it'd be like, all right, I'm going to get my mom and my sister one thing, but if I get them something, I got to get my other two sisters something. But then I got to get... And then if I get one friend something or one roommate something, I got to get the other roommate something. So it would add up. That's why I ended up getting souvenirs for 20 people when I travel.
Lizzy: Which often then leads you to like, okay, I'm going to get something more expensive, or inexpensive, which may not align with what you wanted to give them in the first place. You know, shifts-
Lissa: In the first place that they're not going to use and they're going to throw away, then I've thrown away money, but at least they know I was thinking about them while I was on vacation. I don't know. So, yeah.
Lizzy: It's tricky. Yeah. I totally feel it. I have five siblings, and two sets of parents, 11 nieces and nephews, and a whole bunch of friends. It's challenging. And so what I've shifted towards is things that I can get in bulk.
Lissa: Oh yeah, that's a great-
Lizzy: Like little things.
Lissa: Yep. Yep.
Lizzy: I got some people, some stuff when I went to the UK, but it's more like my immediate circle, and it was more food-based. When I did go to Europe last year, I found packs of small things, more food, and I think I got a pack of little notebooks at [inaudible 00:18:20] that were pretty, or sometimes I'll just do postcards. Because they're pretty, and you put them on a mirror or something, but it's still something, and I feel like it's not... I don't know. Maybe they don't care. But yeah, it's tricky.
Lissa: Yeah. Okay. Financial cost, obvious. You have to buy souvenirs.
Lizzy: Space.
Lissa: Space.
Lizzy: Space, and your luggage. Do you need to bring another bag? Do you need to check a bag, especially if you're buying food or liquids. Did you prepare for this?
Lissa: Yeah. I don't know if this counts as souvenirs. Well, I guess it is. When Allan and I traveled to the UK, there's a specific tea shop, Fortnum & Mason, that we really love. Great everything, like teas, cookies, jams, whatever. So I'm getting the stuff. Whenever we go there, I get the stuff that I already know and that I love, but I always want to try new stuff too. There have been a couple trips where we've gone to the UK where we've had to buy another suitcase, and then now we just have this extra suitcase lying around at home that we don't actually need because we had more at home, we just didn't bring them with us. So yeah, space. And then luckily, I'd say for the most part, we get free checked bags, like multiple bags, so we've never had to pay for the airline having an extra bag. But buying the luggage itself, I'm like, now these souvenirs didn't cost $50. They've cost now $150.
Lizzy: Right. Yeah. I've definitely had to check a bag otherwise-
Lissa: Instead of carry on?
Lizzy: Instead of carry on. And I think I've used a shopping bag or something, so I didn't have to buy luggage and pay for the check bag, but I've definitely had to upgrade. Yeah.
Lissa: Okay. Space.
Lizzy: So space, for me, the mental cost, when I'm on this trip of what do I get them? I have to go search. It takes time. I stress myself out. I can't pick.
Lissa: Or who to get something for and not.
Lizzy: Who to get something for. It can be overwhelming. And that's not the point. People don't want you to do that. But this is how my brain works, so it can be hard for me.
Lissa: Which is crazy because in all my years of living, the family and friends I have in my circles, there's never been a person, besides maybe my mom, but there's never been a person that if I didn't get them something wouldn't be like, "Why didn't you give me something? And I'm mad at you now." There's never been that. So I don't know why.
Lizzy: I don't know either.
Lissa: It's like a self-imposed pressure.
Lizzy: Yeah. Seriously. Well, so honestly, I think I have... Maybe we talked about this on the gift episode. Some of my closest friends, you included, in fact, my two very best friends, are gift givers. Very, very, very thoughtful and genuinely enjoy it. But then sometimes I'm like, "Oh, shit, am I not being thoughtful either? Am I not..."
Lissa: That's true.
Lizzy: No, but I think about that, I'm like, they get me things in this situation and they're so sweet and I love it and I appreciate it. So I should do that too. I should reciprocate. But it's just pressure we put on ourselves for no reason.
Lissa: Yeah. So I don't know that that's a cost... Well, that's a cost of thinking about-
Lizzy: Emotional toll.
Lissa: Yeah, emotional cost. Emotional toll of even having to consider souvenirs. But again, it's like self-imposed.
Lizzy: Self-imposed.
Lissa: For the most part.
Lizzy: [inaudible 00:21:35] to ourselves.
Lissa: If anyone has ever gotten someone mad at them for not getting a souvenir, let us know in the comments. I want to know stories.
Lizzy: You know what I bet is, is, like, partners.
Lissa: Partners?
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Yeah. But I guess if you travel and you're only getting one souvenir for your partner, and you know enough about them that they're the type to get upset about it, you'll do it.
Lizzy: I bet there's someone who's gotten mad. This is probably sexist, but I'm picturing a woman in my head, but... that like, "Really? All you got me was a key chain?" Or something like that.
Lissa: Or "All you got me was something from the airport?"
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Because you forgot.
Lizzy: Yeah, you didn't even think about me the whole time.
Lissa: I could see that. I could see that.
Lizzy: I understand the argument, but it's kind of silly.
Lissa: Yeah. I can see both sides too. Yeah. Outside of that, I mean...
Lizzy: Okay, I have a random cost, and it kind of relates to your pants example. So I've been given various gifts that are in textiles from Uganda or from Cameroon, my ex. And they're beautiful, but it feels like appropriation to wear them or use them.
Lissa: Interesting.
Lizzy: Like am I allowed to do this?
Lissa: Interesting. I've never thought of that. I mean, that's wrong. I have thought of that, because I have a lot of stuff also from Uganda because I've traveled there, my husband's from there, and he has family there. And so then they give me gifts too. It's stuff like this. And this is definitely a traditional African print. I think it's beautiful, and I use it, and I actually... I think about it, and then I'm just like... I'm not appropriating because I'm not taking advantage. I'm celebrating.
Lizzy: Right. I think that's the line. But it's something that crosses my mind. Like, "Oh, can I wear that?" Less with functional things. More with clothes?
Lissa: Oh, maybe with clothes.
Lizzy: I think.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: And for some reason in my head it's different that that's your family versus being a friend of it.
Lissa: Yeah. Right.
Lizzy: I don't know. I'm curious. I'd be curious what people think.
Lissa: Dang. And I don't think of that, which is crazy. I'm aware of that, but I don't think of that when I was getting everyone gifts from-
Lizzy: Sure, sure, sure, sure.
Lissa: ... from my travels.
Lizzy: But yeah, it's definitely crossed my mind. Yeah.
Lissa: But that is a cost. That is a cost. That is a cost.
Earlier, you mentioned something about how you... something about cherishing something because you might not go back there again. And I think that's interesting because if I love a place so, so much so that I want to bring a piece of it back with me, I'll travel there again.
Lizzy: You'll go back again.
Lissa: And I know a lot of friends who will only travel to a place once, even if they love it, because they want to go to new countries, they want to fill up their map of pins where they've been. And it's like you have limited resources, so you're going to pick and choose. And I'm like, I'm different, I guess because I'm like, if I really like a place, I'll go back over and over again.
Lizzy: I'm that way too. But what comes to mind is the very first place where I bought a perfume was in Cartagena in Colombia. And that perfume, the smell of it is a local maker. I've looked for it online. I think maybe you can get it, but it's not broadly distributed. It's representative of that place, that time in my life, that moment. And I liked that city a lot. I had a great experience, but it's not a place I have to go back to. So whereas Barcelona, I'll go back many times, Paris, I'll probably go back, Tokyo, I'll go back. So yeah, it's kind of a mix.
Lissa: It just depends. It just depends.
Lizzy: But it still is like... there's still a scarcity part of it. And I've actually thought of it because when I was in Nice, I made a custom perfume, and it's like my favorite, and so I want to wear it all the time. I can reorder it. Now I'm like, "Okay, is it the same if I reorder to replace them?"
Lissa: Yeah. It's what you make of it.
Lizzy: It's what I make of it.
Lissa: Yeah, it's what you make of it.
Yeah. I'm thinking now, the first time I went to Japan, and because it got so many great snacks and things like that, it's a different culture to here that I got so many souvenirs and so many things. And I realized then that I like this place so much I want to go back, and then I end up going back again and again, and I'm like, I want to go back again this year. Because I still find different things of a culture every time I go. But I obviously acknowledge that that is a privilege to be able to do that. But it makes me think, next time, if I'm able to go again, why do I need to bring so many souvenirs back?
Lizzy: So thinking of that, because when I visited you there, I bought a ton of stuff too. So for example, I have this one bowl of traditional Japanese pottery, and I have pictures of this super-cool pottery market. It was a highlight of the trip for me, and I use it regularly, and it's cherished. And every time I use it, I think about that trip and how beautiful it was in the craftsmanship. And so it gives you a little piece of that in your day-to-day life. Also reminded me, I got a vintage kimono there, and I don't have the same problem wearing that. Maybe because it's-
Lissa: Oh, in terms of appropriation.
Lizzy: Yeah, I'll wear that. Maybe because it's more minimal and it's not as blatant. I don't know.
Lissa: Interesting.
Lizzy: I don't know why.
Lissa: Yeah. All right. Any other costs? I think financial, and because souvenirs are associated with travel, it's the space.
Lizzy: Okay. Maybe this is a cost, I guess, kind of to our points around mass production. Is there anything exploitative about that industry? Is it contributing to any kind of decline of culture or...
Lissa: And environmental waste.
Lizzy: And environmental waste? And by participating in this, we're fostering that?
Lissa: Yeah, I think so. I think there's a lot of gray area because it's not like we're going to say, "All right, everybody stop buying souvenirs." Because for all the things we've mentioned in this episode, like the meaning behind it, what it means to you when you visit a place. But I think we also have to be conscious of are we buying it from... Like what is that, like the ABC stores, like they're everywhere, and they're a great place to get a thing that says the name of the city that you visited, if you want to get a mass-produced box of them, but who is that benefiting? Is it benefiting the local economy, or is it benefiting some big corporation that's taken over these local markets?
Lizzy: Right. Yeah. I think that's a great point of is there a way to get something that's actually can be financially empowering to people and supportive of the local economy or the artisans or the small businesses versus detracting from them?
Lissa: It's tough. I even think about that. I love getting souvenirs at museums, but they tend to be pricier and they're more corporate-y, a lot of times.
Lizzy: Yeah. I'm smiling because I have a weird love of museum gift shops. I just do. And even though you could get the same thing somewhere else, something about the way that it's curated, and I don't know, I'm totally a museum souvenir person.
Lissa: Yeah. So I don't know. Maybe I'll go more for... if it feels like it's a local market, local vendor and can some way support the local economy, then I will. But I don't know if there's a way we can-
Lizzy: That's not always going to happen.
Lissa: Interesting. All right. 20 cents?
Lizzy: 20 cents.
Lissa: 20 cents is the segment of the show where both Lizzy and myself, Lissa, each get 60 seconds to give our 2 cents on today's topic, whether it's a net positive or a net negative, where does 20 cents come from?
Lizzy: You get the opinion of two dimes?
Lissa: Two dimes. All right. Liz, you're up first. 60 seconds on the clock. Are souvenirs worth it for you right now at this moment in time in your life?
Lizzy: I don't have a super strong feeling, but I will say when I've traveled, most recently I have bought souvenirs for definitely for others, maybe for myself. I think I will continue to buy my perfumes and collect those. I really cherish that, and probably will continue to buy souvenirs for others, particularly if I think it's something special that they'll really appreciate, or if I feel like it's a small and it not intrusive way to give them a part of the experience or to share that I value them, I'm thinking about them. So I guess, yes, I guess I'm net positive.
Lissa: Net positive.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Okay. Yeah, that makes sense.
Lizzy: All right. What about you, Lis?
Lissa: I'm surprised because right now I feel like a net negative.
Lizzy: Oh, wow. First time ever, maybe.
Lissa: Yeah. And I think primarily because the next few trips I have on the books are domestic, they're within the US. I'm going to a couple conferences, different cities. Apart from maybe something small from my husband because he'll be at home watching the dogs while I'm away, I don't think it's going to be those trips where I'm getting everyone something from Miami and Portland and Orlando or Atlanta. Those are places that my friends have been themselves, and there's nothing that I can bring back that I think would be super meaningful.
That said, for bigger trips, maybe future international trips, I definitely will continue getting items like food items that you can't get here. There's this one seasoning in Japan in Kyoto that I really want, and I got to go back to go get it. So things like that. But right now, at this moment in time for the foreseeable next few months, I'm going net negative.
Lizzy: All right.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: I like it.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: I like this because this represents a shift for probably both of us in how we've approached these things in the past, and just speaks to the fact that there are seasons for everything.
Lissa: Yeah, we can change.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: All right. Well, this is what we think at this moment in time. Liz is net positive for souvenirs, I'm net negative, surprisingly. But no one can make that decision. But what do you think? Are souvenirs worth it?
Lizzy: Hit us up. Let us know what you think. DM us on Instagram, @netnetpodcast, or email us at hi@netnetpodcast.com. And if you want to follow us individually, here's where you can find us.
Lissa: I'm @lissalumutenga on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Lizzy: And I'm @live_well_lizzy on TikTok.
Lissa: All references, statistics and resources mentioned can be found in our show notes. This podcast is for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only and should not be constituted as financial advice. Remember to always do your own research, consult our professional as needed, and feel empowered to make your damn own decisions.