In the former case, money is spent for immediate gratification. No future value can be realized from such expenditure. In the latter case, investment expenditure generally brings no immediate gratification. But the asset purchased retains an immediate monetary value. The asset may well appreciate, hopefully at a rate faster than inflation.
Financial assets represent the other main category of investment assets.
Over the long term, we see periods of low inflation, alternating with periods of high inflation. Until the oil shock of the 1970s, post-War inflation in the U.S. was low. During periods of low inflation, most financial assets greatly outperform hard assets. Financial assets are a claim on the earning power of some entity. Low inflation generally fosters high economic productivity.