Before I get into this, I want to say... essentially what you choose to ever spend your money on is your choice, I'm not here to tell you how or where to spend your money.
However I know there are a lot of people out there whose biggest desire is to travel, they talk about it all the time, they Pinterest exotic places to go, they dream about it, they are constantly checking the latest travel deals and then telling themselves "one day".
In fact i'd say majority of people do this, I mean don't get me wrong there are a small number of people in this world who have no desire to leave their own backyard BUT most people i've ever met, want to go somewhere amazing at some point in their lives.
We live in a world where we are crippled with debt, I would even go as so far to say that most people are slaves to it.
Between student loans, car loans, bills, mortgages, credit cards and everything else in between it can seem nearly impossible to even consider the notion of travelling and spending what little money you might already have on travelling. Its definitely hard to book a flight and "just go" guilt free, when you have a pile of bills and responsibilities screaming at you.
Obviously i'm not saying just stop paying your bills and travel instead. Thats not the best option either, BUT if you do decide you want to go somewhere, then MAKE A PLAN.
Stop sitting there pinteresting beautiful places and then resign yourself to the "oh one day" idea. If you want it, then make it happen. Look at your finances, work out what it is you need to do to save whatever money you need to make your travel happen and then work towards it. Every. Single. Day. And do not for one second feel guilty about spending all your savings (at least once in your life) on travel. Heres why 1. You will learn first hand about the world You want to learn about the world from a text book go to college/ university. You want to learn about the world from the world... TRAVEL. Its a no brainer, it costs about the same too! (actually its probably cheaper than a degree these days)
Honestly, there is no faster way to learn about the world than to immerse yourself into it. 2. You will appreciate the experience more Remember your parents telling you when you were young and you screamed for a new toy that you should "save your pocket money" to buy it and that way you will appreciate it more? (if you never had that problem, its about time you let go of your parents bank account) For the rest of us though, its true! We saved our pennies for that toy and we got it and we took care of it better than any toy we ever had. Same goes for travelling with your own "savings" You will appreciate every single moment so much more when YOU are the one who financed it. 3. You will make new friends I have friends I made whilst travelling who attended my wedding. There is a whole world out there with many great people with the same interests as you, sometimes you have to venture further than your own backyard to find them. 4. You will have more stories to tell Travelling always makes for a great story! Honestly would you rather be the person who discusses what they ate for lunch at their desk yesterday or the person with interesting stories from far away places? 5. You can always make more money Money is something that comes and goes in life, everyone will experience highs and lows in the ocean we call life. If you have the desire to travel and the finances to fund it, then stop letting the fear of "I can't afford it" from stopping you doing what you want.
If you leave and spend all your money and come back happy and well travelled with new friends and great stories and memories, then isn't it money well spent?
You can always get a new job, or start a new career or begin your own business when you return. You can always find a way to make more money, so why are you worried?
There are no guarantees in this life, there is no promise of tomorrow, some day, one day, in a few years. There just isn't! Thats the sad truth. So go and buy that ticket, spend your money on new experiences and don't you ever for a second feel guilty about it!
