The saying that “money can’t buy happiness” isn’t exactly true.
In fact, I think in our world today, a minimum of money is fundamental to happiness, as it gives you dignity and the freedom to act. Of course, I agree to what you say about prioritizing experiences over things.
As I was reading your post, I started to wonder, if one could always distinguish between the two, just to find you saying just that the very next moment.
I own a decent collection of paintings I bought over the years and this art is a treasure that never stops bringing me joy... another "thing" we have, is our motorcycle, and we spend a lot of our free time on it together and experiences have really enriched our lives.
The other day I had a "chat" with my friend Leo Plaw and the question came up, what someone spends their money on.. I think that correlates very nicely with what you state.. when you buy stuff for your image, it always remains stuff/things. When you acquire or do something to really enrich your life, it will also create the experience.