I’ve got a proposal for Black Friday.

Instead of buying stuff, why don’t you buy a ticket somewhere?

Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year. Americans will spend $59bn, an average of $380 per person, on the latest stuff.

Do you really need that TV or that extra pair of shoes? Will you still have them in five years? Will they still make you happy?

Spend that money on a trip instead. Fly somewhere new or take the bus to visit a friend. Studies have shown that spending money on experiences rather than objects is more likely to bring long-term happiness, because the object loses value over time while you remember the experience more fondly.

But don’t travel just for yourself. Buy a ticket because spending your money on travel can help solve some of the world’s greatest problems.

Your ticket will help fund highways and airports that will be used for the trade of goods and services and, even more importantly, ideas.

The tour guide you hire will have stayed in school longer than her friends who went to work in factories. Your money will encourage more people to keep their children (boys and girls) in school, instead of sending them to manufacture the next line of fast fashion.

Your children will forget the toys you buy them this season, but they will never forget playing soccer on a strange beach with kids who speak a different language. The footprints your kids leave in the sand won’t end up in a landfill.

Travel will help you and the people you visit understand each other’s way of life. It will remind you that people are more important than possessions and human life is the most valuable thing of all.

In a world where it’s always tempting to see things in black and white, travel teaches us that the world is drenched in color. We’re all shades of brown. Our cities are full spectrum. Travel shows us that no matter how good we have it, there is something mind-blowing we haven’t yet seen; and no matter how bad we have it, there are kind strangers who will help us without expecting anything in return.

So before you get drawn in by the relentless stream of advertisements telling you what you need to be beautiful, happy, or safe this holiday season, stop for a minute. Think about what you want, and if it’s a thing, whether it will still make you happy in five years. If not, think about spending your money on a trip instead.

If this sounds like a good idea to you, please tell others that you #choosetravel by sharing this post. And if you’re looking for inspiration on where and when to travel, check out Hitlist.